Arnold Police are investigating a scam that cost a 71-year-old Arnold woman $800 worth of eBay gift cards. The woman had attempted to purchase a 2006 Acura TSX through eBay, police reported.
The woman called the police on Dec. 26 after she had exchanged emails with an unknown person about buying the car. The seller had the woman send information from eBay gift cards to buy the car and then asked for an additional $600 to cover shipping costs, the report said.
When the supposed seller asked for the additional money, the woman believed she was being scammed. When she told the seller this through email, the seller stopped communicating with her, according to the report.
When investigators traced the email address the woman was exchanging messages with, they could not connect the address to a person, the report said.
As of Jan. 4, none of the gift card funds had been recovered, and no suspects had been identified. Detective Lt. Jeremy Christopher said Arnold Police will forward the case to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.