A Johnson County woman lost $1,700 in what police are calling a scam.
The woman reported to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office that she received two messages between 3 and 4 p.m. Monday, telling her she owed nearly $6,000 in unpaid taxes, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The caller told her he was with the U.S. Department of Treasury, and a lawsuit had been filed against her for tax fraud. The man also said if she paid now, she would only have to pay about $3,700, the report said.
She then went and bought $700 in iTunes gift cards, as the caller directed her. When the caller said she needed to pay more, the woman went to the bank and transferred money so she could buy another $1,000 in iTunes gift cards, the report said.
After reading the numbers off the cards to the man, she told him she did not have any more money and hung up. The man continued to try to call back, and she called the sheriff’s office to make a report.
The sheriff’s office is warning people that government agencies will not ask for payment using gift cards, and if anyone receives a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS or law enforcement asking for payment using a gift card, they should hang up immediately.
