Scam victim tricked into leaving $55K in a box outside Dollar General

APPLING, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - An Appling 66-year-old was scammed out of $55,000 by a man posing as a government agent who convinced the victim to leave the cash in a box in a store parking lot.

It all happened Thursday and Friday, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim said that while Google searching something on his iPad, it locked up and alerts popped up. He stated there was a phone number on the screen to call, which he did, speaking with a man identifying himself as Daniel Marshall with Apple.

The victim said the bogus Apple employee unlocked the iPad and told him he was a victim of identity fraud.

The victim was told to hold the line and was transferred to a man who said he was “Peter Garcia” with the Federal Trade Commission.

The victim was told he was under investigation for drug trafficking and money laundering.

The fake FTC worker told the victim he knew that an identity thief was the one really running drugs and money but that the victim could be held responsible.

The victim was asked if he had any cash in the house and the victim said he had $25,000 in the house. The scammer then asked the victim if he had bank accounts and the victim said yes.

The victim was told he needed to withdraw $30,000 in cash from a bank to show that he had a bank account.

The victim took $30,000 from his savings account then called the scammer back.

The scammer said an FTC investigator would come to his house to get the money and take it to the federal courthouse, where it would be processed and returned to him.

The victim waited for someone to come to his house, but no one came.

The victim called the scammer back and was told the investigator would not be coming. Instead, the scammer told him to put the money in a box and wrap it up, then go to a Dollar General store, park on the side of the building and put the box in front of his vehicle, then leave.

The victim did what he was told.

The scammer called back and told the victim he needed to go to a different branch of his bank and withdraw another $30,000.

That’s when the victim knew he’d been scammed.

Deputies said the scammers had foreign accents, and authorities released surveillance photos of teh suspects from inside the store.

Anyone with information on the men is urged to contact Investigator Donnie Jones at 706-541-1044 or dispatchers at 706-541-2800.

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