Saturday, January 18, 2014
Resident Bilked Out Of Funds In Grant Scam
Law enforcement officers were dispatched to investigate Wednesday after a Summertown woman reported she had been bilked out of funds in an apparent scam that promised government grant funds.
Deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department were sent to the North Old Military Road home of the victim at around 2:00 p.m. The victim, age 48, reported that she had been contacted by individuals claiming to represent the United States Government Grant Service.
The victim said that she was in need of home improvements and she had believed this would be a good way to obtain the needed funds. As instructed, she purchased a Green Dot card and sent the callers $300.
The callers had instructed the victim to forward the funds to them, indicating that once they had received the money they would send her $7,500 via Western Union. In addition, they told her that she would be refunded the initial $300.
The victim told deputies that she had not received the promised funds. She said she had made several attempts to make contact through a telephone number she had, but that each time she called someone picked up, then hung up.
Reports show that the deputy called the number she had been given and was able to make contact with a female. He reports she refused to give her name and hung up once he began asking questions.
The investigation is continuing at the present time.
