AMHERST — Amherst Police are reminding residents to be cautious about falling victim to attempted scams by phone or email after a resident told police he purchased $1,600 worth of gift cards and had the money stolen from him.
On Tuesday afternoon, a man came to the police station to report that he got a call and was instructed to purchase the gift cards, which he did at a Wal-Mart store, and then provide the PIN numbers on the cards to the caller.
While police took a report about the fraud, Amherst Detective Yvonne Feliciano said it is unlikely that the money will ever be recovered or the suspect identified.
Later in the day, a woman and her daughter came to the police station to report the theft of $4,000 from savings and checking accounts. They will likely be able to get the money back since the bank is insured and its investigators are handling the matter, Feliciano said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbvach@gazettenet.com.
