An 82-year-old Eureka man lost $6,000 in a phone scam when a person claiming to be a federal agent convinced the man to purchase gift cards and provide the card numbers, Eureka Police reported.
The man’s daughter called Eureka Police on Aug. 26 because she was unable to locate her father. She also told police that he had withdrawn $7,300 from his bank account earlier that day, the report.
Officers located the man at about 9 p.m. Aug. 26 at the QuikTrip gas station, 290 E. Fourth St. The man was talking to someone on the phone and reading gift card serial numbers to the person, according to the report.
Officers hung up the phone for the man. They also discovered the man had $1,300 and multiple gift cards, the report said.
The man told officers that he was called at about 1 p.m. that day by someone claiming to be a federal agent who asked for his assistance to break up a phone scam ring. He said the person on the phone gave him instructions throughout the afternoon to buy gift cards at Schnucks, Walgreens, Dollar Tree and Walmart, according to the report.
The man said he talked to the person through FaceTime, but he never saw the person on the other end of the FaceTime video call, the report said.
Eureka Police were still investigating the scam as of Sept. 8, Lt. Brett Grittini said. He asked anyone contacted about a similar scam to call Eureka Police at 636-938-6600.