A Bowling Green woman was reportedly scammed out of $4,500 last month, according to the BG Police Division.
On Thursday, the woman reported she received messages on Facebook Messenger from a person using the name of a local resident, telling her that he had received $50,000 from a Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) grant.
The person proceeded to tell that he saw her name on the DHHS list, and that she should apply for the grant.
The woman became involved in an extensive Facebook Messenger conversation with a scammer who identified himself as James Williams, an agent of DHHS. This conversation continued for a week.
She was soon told she was accepted for the $50,000 grant, and that she would need to pay a $1,000 fee to have the money sent to her. Various pictures were sent to her, including a picture of a FedEx box with her name photo-shopped onto.
The woman was told to get gift cards, and then send pictures of the cards and receipts. She did as she was instructed. Over the course of the week, the scammer used various excuses to explain that the package was being delayed. Each time, the scammer would request more money via gift cards.
The woman ended up purchasing $4,500 worth of gift cards and giving the information to the scammer.
Police documented the incident and referred her to FTC.gov to file a fraud report.
