Public Safety
Police

Man Scammed Out of $20,000 Over the Phone

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An elderly Darien man contacted through a pop-up virus in his computer received a message that instructed him to call a phone number to fix a virus in his computer, police were told on Saturday, Dec. 7. Police said:

When the man called the number, he was told his American Express card information had been compromised and, in order to prevent fraudulent use of his card, he should spend all the available credit on it by buying gift cards from Target and Walmart. The man bought a number of gift cards for a total of $20,000, then provided the suspect with the access codes on the back of the cards. Then the victim lost all that money.

Public Safety
Computer Keyboard 8-2-16

Porn Blackmail Scam Costs Darien Resident $10,500

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A Darien resident got a call from someone claiming to be “Jack” from Apple support, who said child pornography had been downloaded on the victim’s computer. “Jack” wanted money to fix the problem, and the victim eventually paid out $10,500, Darien police said. The Brookside Road resident told police on Monday, Nov. 4 that the call was received previous Saturday, and “Jack” said he could fix the problem with the victim’s home IP if the victim bought pre-paid gift cards for various stores and sent the codes to the caller. The victim bought:

—$5,000 in Game Stop Gift Cards from Stop and Shops in Darien and Norwalk

—$2,000 in Game Stop Gift Cards from Whole Foods in Darien

—$2,000 in Target Gift Cards from Target in Stamford

—$1,500 in Game Stop gift cards from the Home Depot in Norwalk.

Public Safety
Darien Police Headquarters and Sign

UPDATE: Police Revise Story About That Package With $10,000 Left on Darien Doorstep

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Updated at 6:18 p.m., Tuesday, March 26 — Darien police on Tuesday withdrew several parts of the department’s announcement about a package with $10,000 found on the doorstep of a vacant house. The parts about what happened in Darien were unchanged: The money was found, it came from an elderly woman scammed with a false story that her son had been arrested, and a man came three times, demanding the package. A Darien police detective who worked on the case gave this additional information, including changes in the original announcement (published below):

Changes:

— The victim who sent the $10,000 was from Arizona, not Maryland. — Earlier, a victim from Maryland had sent cash to the same address. The same scam was perpetrated on both victims.

— Darien police found out about the Maryland victim when a police agency in that state contacted the Darien department.