Following two separate reports from residents who have fallen victim to scams and ended up losing fairly substantial amounts of money, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents to be exceedingly cautious about sending money to people they do not know.
The first reported scam cost a local resident approximately $3,000. The man told deputies he received a text message telling him he had won $1 million, but in order to receive the funds, he would need to purchase a number of gift cards, in varying amounts, from multiple businesses. When the amount reached $3,000, the man became suspicious and went to his bank. The bank checked the balances on the cards he had purchased and on each the balance was now zero.
Under limited circumstances, according to a spokeswoman at the N.C. Commissioner of Banks, a gift card may be replaced at the business’ discretion. She pointed out that the commission has no oversight at all of gift cards, but said she is aware that with some companies, if the person has a receipt with the card number on it and it can be verified that there are still funds available, the company may choose to cancel the original gift card and issue a replacement. But she said in truth, gift cards should be treated like cash — once they are gone, so is the money.
In a second report, deputies said a woman lost more than $20,000 in an effort to purchase a Yorkshire Terrier puppy.
The woman told deputies that in December, she contacted a breeder on…
