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Lincoln woman scammed out of nearly $150,000

(Lincoln, NE) -- A Lincoln woman is scammed out of nearly $150,000 dollars.

Lincoln Police say on Tuesday, a 68-year-old woman went to the NW Team Station to report a fraud. Police say she told officers that on July 11th, she received a phone call from an unknown party saying there had been an unauthorized purchase of a laptop on her Amazon account. Investigators say she was then directed to follow some messaging prompts and was eventually transferred to someone who identified himself as a DEA Agent. LPD say the woman was told several credit cards and bank accounts had been opened in her name across several states. Investigators say she was told to withdraw as much money as she could from her bank which would be placed in a different account to verify it wasn’t laundered. Police say she then withdrew $25,000.

LPD says the next day the woman was again contacted by the ‘DEA Agent’ who told her she needed to withdraw additional funds. She then withdrew $5,000. Police say she was directed to place the funds in bags outside of her home and an agent would pick them up then provide her with a cashier’s check. The funds were picked up from outside her home, however no cashier’s check was left. Investigators say the following day she was again contacted and instructed to purchase $120,000 in gold. She ultimately purchased $119,294.84 worth of gold. Police say two days later she received instructions to place the gold outside of her home and an agent would pick it up shortly. LPD says about an hour after placing the gold outside her home, she noticed it was gone. Investigators say the woman then became suspicious and contacted police.

Police say the total loss is $149,294.84.

The Lincoln Police Department is reminding everyone that at no time will law enforcement request to be paid in cash, or precious metals, as part of an investigation. They are also reminding people to be extremely suspicious of anyone asking for your bank account number and to contact your financial institution who will assist in verifying the legitimacy of the request before taking any additional action.


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