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County resident out over $2K following Amazon Prime scam

An elderly Campbell County man was scammed out of $2,600 yesterday after he reportedly fell for an Amazon Prime scam and provided the scammers with gift cards, Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said Thursday.

The male, 73, reported being contacted by an individual who claimed to be an “Amazon Prime” representative who was calling to notify him that someone had purchased a $1,400 phone using his account, Reynolds said.

After telling the male that he would be held liable for the charges, Reynolds continued, the scammers then informed him that Amazon had deposited $14,000 into his bank account and requested that he send the difference back in gift cards.

The 73-year-old male then purchased and provided the scammers with approximately $4,000 in gift cards and was on his way to Rapid City, South Dakota, to purchase more, per Reynolds.

While he was traveling, the 73-year-old’s bank called him to inform him of suspicious account activity and was able to stop a portion of the transactions from going through, approximately $1,400 worth.

When a deputy contacted the scammers with the number they used to keep in contact with the 73-year-old male, they reportedly responded with vulgarities and abruptly hung up the phone.

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