Telephone scams net nearly $3K in gift cards in Nevada

Two more telephone scams are developing in the 775 area code, authorities report.

Phone calls are being made to residents with false information, and the victims are purchasing gift cards, law enforcement said.

In one instance reported to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, a resident received a phone call from Apple Computer and claimed their computer had been compromised,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement via Facebook.

“The caller ID also stated it was Apple Inc., so the resident felt it was legitimate. The scam caller claimed he would be working on the computer remotely. After the scam caller claimed it was repaired, he asked for a service plan to be purchased for future protection. The scam caller instructed the victim to purchase $400 in iTunes gift cards, which was done, and gift card numbers were given to the scam caller.”

The scam caller immediately redeemed the card with no services given, the sheriff’s office said.

In the second instance, a phone call from a scam caller claiming to be a grandson, and then later a call from a male who claimed to be the attorney for the grandson who was handling his arrest for DUI, the sheriff’s office said.

“The scam caller wanted gift cards for handling the incident and then her grandson would be released. The loss was $2,500 in Walmart gift cards.”