WORCESTER, Mass. — Police in several communities are warning people to be an alert for a scam asking them to buy thousands of dollars’ worth of iTunes gift cards.
According to the Telegram & Gazette, a Worcester woman was threatened by a person who said he was a federal agent. The man said if she did not get him $2,000 in iTunes gift cards he would arrest an elderly woman she cared for on tax evasion charges.
In a separate incident in Needham, police said a woman was contacted by someone saying they were with the IRS and they needed a payment of $1,000 or she would be arrested.
In both cases the women complied and bought the gift cards then read the activation codes to the scammers over the phone.
The IRS does not make phone calls threatening jail time and does not accept iTunes cards as payment, police in Needham said.
Salem police also alerted residents about this scam earlier in the month, saying they were notified of people contacted by the scammers multiple times per day. In one situation a woman bought 15 $100 iTunes gift cards and gave the scammer the activation codes.