A citizen in Cumberland County reported to law enforcement yesterday he was scammed out of $1,600.

The male in his early 70’s told officers he received a message on his phone stating “thanks for your first purchase. Your order is confirmed.”

The message includes a help desk phone number and the unsuspecting victim called it.

The scammer said the victim’s identity had been stolen and he was going to have to call the FBI to check on it. He placed the elderly man on hold back and forth for around 2 hours. The scam artists came back on the line stating six accounts were opened in the victim’s name and $1,600 was the charge for looking into it and supposedly stopping his accounts from being used. The victim was told to go buy several Ebay cards and supply the codes on the back of them to resolve the so called charge.

The scammer later got the codes and ended the call.

Law enforcement reminds all citizens not to fall for these types of scams.