ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Last week, a 71-year-old Annapolis man received an email about purchasing a home security system. The email said to call an 800 number which the victim did.
"At that point, the suspect advised the victim he owed him $7,000 for this security system. The victim then transferred that money to an account in Thailand. The victim is now out $7,000 for this."
Corporal Dave Stokes says to use all the resources you can.
"We have the internet and you can do a little research when you're on the phone with people," Stokes said.
Stokes warns us they call people all day long and they only need to fool one of us.
"Their stories are very convincing. They can be very threatening, and some people get scared and maybe they don't think, and they're maybe a little too trustworthy and they go and make those transfers," he said. "They are not discriminating, they scam young people, they scam the elderly. They're scamming people around the country as we speak."
If you find yourself in an negotiation like this, Corporal Stokes recommends inquiring and asking a lot of questions. Make sure this is a valid business deal.
Even if you find out it's a scam and you don't lose any money, Annapolis Police would like to hear from you so they can keep track of these things.
