On September 29, a Marshalltown resident reported they had been scammed out of a significant amount of money after answering a phone call from someone pretending to be a federal drug enforcement agent.
The criminal making the call told our victim they were a DEA agent and they were investigating a crime. The criminal told our victim that someone was using the victim's identify to fraudulently purchase land. The criminal told the victim they needed to send the
DEA agent money to resolve the problem. The victim was told to buy a large dollar amount of Visa Go Bank cards. The victim was then instructed to the call criminal back and provide the criminal with the card numbers. The criminal also tried to convince the victim to make even larger payments via direct debit withdrawals from the victim's bank account.
This is a variation of a common phone scam. These criminals can be very convincing. Many people fall for these scams. Please remember that legitimate organizations, banks, and real law enforcement agents will never conduct business this way. Hang up on these scammers and call local police for advice. Call a trusted family member. Call your bank for advice. Do not give out personal identity or banking information. Do not go purchase prepaid credit cards. If someone asks you to purchase a prepaid credit card, we can guarantee this is a scam.
If you have been a victim of a similar crime, or if you have questions, call 641.754.5729 and ask to speak to a Marshalltown police officer.
AUTHORITY: Michael W. Tupper, Chief of Police (mtupper@marshalltown-ia.gov or 641.754.5771)