Sheriff's officials say a phone scam in Clay County, Florida cost victims nearly $70,000 in about two weeks. Callers tell people to hide cash in cereal boxes.
Scammers in Clay County, Florida, are telling people to hide thousands of dollars in a cereal box and hand it to a stranger. The Clay County Sheriff's Office says victims have lost nearly $70,000 in about two weeks. Older residents have been the main targets.
The caller claims to be an investigator with a bank's fraud department or a federal agency. The caller warns that the victim could lose their life savings. To prevent that, the victim is told to withdraw $5,000 to $10,000 in cash. One reason given is that investigators need to lift fingerprints off the money. The caller promises the cash will come back once the investigation ends.
Victims are told to stay on the phone, buy a box of cereal and put the money inside. Then they are sent to meet someone and hand over the box. Detective Alyssa Huggins, of the sheriff's financial crime section, says the callers put fear in people's minds. She says the whole thing can unfold within minutes.
The steps in the alert box above cover what to do if this call comes to you. The key point is that a real bank or agency will never ask you to withdraw cash and give it to someone. Huggins also urged children and grandchildren to talk with older relatives about current scams.
The sheriff's office says these scams keep changing and tend to increase during the holiday season, so the cereal box may not be the last version. The report does not say how many people were hit or whether anyone has been arrested. Huggins said victims have been coming forward only after handing over the money.
No real bank or agency will ever ask you to withdraw cash and hand it over, so hang up and call your bank yourself.
Morristown police say scammers posing as bank staff are pushing people to withdraw cash, which is very hard to get back once it is handed over.
Read more: Morristown police warn of scam where fake bank staff ask for cashA viral ChatGPT prompt turns what the chatbot remembers about you into a room image. Posting it publicly could give scammers clues to target you.
Read more: Viral ChatGPT room image could hand scammers clues about youA message saying your Amazon account was hacked is often the scam itself. Checking in the Amazon app first can protect your card, gift balance and phone.
Read more: If Amazon says your account was hacked, check before you call
