A Franklin woman was the victim of a phone scam after a man convinced her she would be charged with drug trafficking and money laundering unless she bought almost $4,000 in gift cards to obtain a new social security card.
The incident took place Tuesday after the resident received a call from a man claiming he was from Social Security. The call lasted four hours. During that time, the caller convinced her that her identity was stolen and used in commission of drug trafficking for cocaine, money laundering and a cybercrime. He told her she needed to buy gift cards to pay for a new social security card to clear her name, according to a Franklin police report.
During her time on the phone, she went to four retailers and bought six Google Play gift cards totaling about $2,996 and two Walmart gift cards totaling $1,000, the report said.
By the time the woman contacted police, the balances on the gift cards were zero. Police spoke with the woman about phone scams, according to the report. Police are waiting for further information before proceeding with an investigation, according to the report.
