Hingham Couple Loses $17k In Phone Scam

HINGHAM, MA — A Hingham couple lost $17,000 after falling victim to a phone scam in which the scammer claimed to be the police chief, said the Hingham Police Department in a news release.

The couple, ages 62 and 57, reported the scam at the Hingham Police station Friday, saying that they had received a call from someone who claimed to be the "Chief of the Hingham Police" and had a caller ID displaying the Hingham police business number.

The scammer told the couple that someone had compromised their identity and knew their bank information, last four digits of their social security numbers, address, and phone numbers, said police. The scammer said the only way to protect their money was to purchase Target gift cards for the full balance that was in their bank account.

One of the residents went to two different Target stores to purchase $17,000 worth of Target cards and gave the gift card numbers to the scammer over a series of nine phone calls.

Police said scammers usually redeem gift cards immediately before the victims catch on, but the resident is attempting to contact Target to cancel the cards.

"As a reminder, police departments will never call asking for money in any form," said the news release. "No government agency will ever call asking purchase gift cards or wire money to them. Remember, the caller ID can be altered to display any name or phone number. If you receive a call and want to verify who the caller is, hang up, and call them back on the phone number listed online."