Scam of resident thwarted by wrong address

An attempted ruse to swindle an elderly Bloomfield Township resident out of $4,000 failed after it was discovered the perpetrator of the scam provided the wrong address to the victim, police said.

Police said officers responded about 8:15 a.m. to the 2000 block of Ridgewood Drive for a fraud complaint that originated from a phone call. The victim said he received a phone call from a person posing as a relative who claimed to have been arrested and needed help posting bond. The caller told the victim the police department wouldn't accept cash and instructed him to purchase four, $1,000 gift cards from Best Buy and mail them to his attorney's office in Southfield.

The victim purchased the cards and attempted to deliver them to the address, but discovered the address didn't exist. The victim then went to the Southfield Police Department for assistance where he was advised he was the victim of a scam and directed him to file a report with police in Bloomfield Township.

Police said residents should be advised that courts, police departments and any other entity would never accept gift cards as a form of payment or bond.

Police ask anyone with questions, information or who has been the victim of a similar scam to contact the Bloomfield Township Police Department at 248.433.7755.