Eureka Police are investigating a phone scam that cost the Cotton’s Ace Hardware store, 111 Hilltop Village Center Drive, $2,172.78. The scam occurred the day after the store closed early due to a power outage, police reported.
An employee, a 43-year-old Villa Ridge woman, told investigators a man called the store on Jan. 11. She said the man claimed to work for a software company and needed to make sure the store’s cash registers were connecting to the credit card reading devices, the report said.
The man provided the employee with a Visa credit card number and asked her to scan three different power wrenches. The woman completed each transaction separately and then refunded the charge to the credit card account, according to the repor.t
The woman told investigators that credit card transactions are not normally completed over the phone. However, she said she completed the transactions because she believed they were only tests and money was not being refunded onto the credit card account, the report said.
As of Jan. 27, the money had not been recovered, and Eureka Police are still investigating the scam, Capt. Michael Werges said. He asks anyone with information about the scam or who has been contacted about a similar scheme to call Eureka Police at 636-938-6600.