The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office warns of two scams that have been circulating in their area recently. The first report came in a couple of weeks ago, when an elderly county resident reported he had started an online relationship with a much younger woman from Florida. Over the course of three to four months, the woman began asking for money to buy food for her children and to have her vehicle repaired. The kindly gentleman sent a few dollars to the woman, and the requests escalated. He ended up sending nearly $16,000 in wire transfers and gift cards. After his suspicions were raised, he contacted the Sheriff’s Office and was immediately advised to stop sending money. The second incident involved a young woman calling an elderly resident and claiming to be a granddaughter who had been arrested following a motor vehicle accident. Her lawyer was kind enough to get on the phone and explain the dilemma and the solution. The woman did as requested, drove to the nearest Walmart, purchased $4,000 worth of gift cards and sent the numbers to the supposed lawyer. A short time later, a judge called and said it would take an additional $3,000 to cover damages. The woman returned to Walmart and purchased the gift cards, transferring the numbers to the judge. She did get wise to the fact that something was not right and contacted her credit card to report the fraud. With nearly $23,000 bilked from these area residents, authorities caution everyone, especially the most vulnerable residents, to be wary of any requests for money and that if it sounds fishy or too good to be true, the smart money is on checking everything out first.
