iTunes gift card scammers threaten Fort Worth man’s family
A man in east Fort Worth told police that scammers swindled $200 from him through an iTunes gift card, and then threatened to kidnap and rape his daughter when he didn’t send them more money.
The man said he received a call Friday afternoon with a sweet deal: He was one of 1,700 people selected by the Federal Reserve to be given a $10,000 government grant. He hadn’t filed for bankruptcy and had no debt, so he was eligible, the callers told him, according to the police report.
All the man needed to provide, he told police, was the pin number of an iTunes gift card loaded with $200, “so they could have an account to send his money to.”
The man bought the gift card at a Walgreens in the 4200 block of East Lancaster Avenue and sent the card’s pin number to the callers.
On Monday, the man received another call from the same people, he told police. They told him he needed to send two more gift cards worth a total of $695.
The man “told them he didn’t have that kind of money” and asked for his $200 back.
The callers then “started laughing in the background saying they got his money and he couldn't get it back,” according to the report.
They told the man they knew personal information about his family and “began to make threats against him and his family members saying they were going to kidnap his daughter and have her raped,” according to the report.
Police have not made any arrests.
Fake government grants are a known scam, according to the Better Business Bureau, with callers trying to either access a victim’s checking account or have them send money through gift cards.
“What is important to know is that government grant money is not given at random and one does not have to pay money in exchange for a grant,” a BBB blog post from 2014 said. “Grants are earned, and they are given to businesses, for-profit and not-for-profits.”
Ryan Osborne: 817-390-7684, @RyanOsborneFWST
This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 12:03 PM with the headline "iTunes gift card scammers threaten Fort Worth man’s family."