Sioux Falls Residents Fall Victim to Phone Scam

Two Sioux Falls residents received phone calls from someone claiming to be with the IRS and were conned out of money over the weekend.

A 22-year-old victim was told they owed back taxes and needed to pay immediately or they would face arrest. The victim followed the scammer’s instructions, went to Walmart, got Google Play gift cards and called back the scammer with the card information.

The suspect requested more money, and during a second trip, the victim bought more gift cards, turning over the card information again, until realizing he had been scammed out of $1,200.

A similar call from someone claiming to be the IRS said the victim’s bank account had been compromised and they needed to give the money to the IRS via gift cards in order to keep it secure. Google Play gift cards were requested again, this time scamming the 43-year-old victim of $1,600.

Although there are similarities in the calls, police are investigating and do not have confirmation that the scams originated from the same caller. If you receive any call claiming to be from Police, IRS or any other authority, ask for a name and number to return a call, hang up and call that local office to verify.

Legitimate businesses or government offices will not request payments from gift cards.