Fake bank callers tell victims to hide cash in cereal boxes

The Clay County Sheriff's Office in Florida is dealing with five cases of what it calls the "cereal box scam." Callers pretend to be from a bank's fraud department, tell people to withdraw thousands of dollars, and then have them hide the cash in a cereal box and hand it to a stranger in a parking lot.

How the scam works

It starts with a phone call, sometimes a FaceTime call. Detective Michael Antonini says an email address pops up on screen with the bank's name in it. "It just adds to the realism," he said. Victims believe they are cooperating with their bank.

The caller pushes the person to stay on the line and warns that something bad could happen if they hang up. If a teller asks questions at the bank, the victim is told to lie and say the money is for "home improvement" or another large project.

After the withdrawal, the victim is sent to a nearby store to buy three boxes of cereal and a roll of tape. They put the cash in one box and wait. A courier arrives at the same store, takes the package in the parking lot and drives away.

Why it matters

Nothing about the call has to look suspicious on its face. A real-looking email address and a live video call can make it feel official. The pressure to stay on the line and the instruction to lie to a teller are meant to stop the victim from getting a second opinion. A real bank would never ask you to hide cash or mislead its own staff, so either request is the giveaway.

What to do

The steps are in the alert box above. In short, end the call, contact your bank yourself, and report it to local law enforcement. The sheriff's office says most agencies have detectives and a fraud unit for these cases. Contacting your bank quickly also lets it act on its end.

What is not known yet

The report does not say how much money the five victims lost in total, beyond "often thousands of dollars." It does not say who is behind the calls or whether the scam has reached other places. Investigators say they are tracing digital trails, including the email addresses used, and filing subpoenas with service providers to identify the scammers.