UW-Madison student scammed out of $15K by fraud call

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A University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student was scammed out of $15,000 by someone claiming to be calling from the Madison Police Department, according to a release.

The callers spoofed the department’s non-emergency number and kept the 24-year-old student on the phone more than five hours as she bought gift cards and gave them their numbers, police said.

The callers convinced the woman that her Social Security number had been compromised and was now associated with criminal activity, according to the release.

The woman was told to comply with instructions or a federal investigation could be opened that might lead to her assets being frozen and her being deported, officials said.

When the callers demanded she buy more gift cards, she demanded to speak with an officer in person, according to the release. That’s when she started to realize she had been scammed.

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