Township woman falls prey to scam

A Bloomfield Township woman lost $500 on Tuesday, June 18, after becoming the victim of an email scam in which she believed she was sending money to a friend in need.

Bloomfield Township police responded to the 800 block of Long Lake Road for a complaint of a fraud incident. The victim told officers she received an email from a close friend asking her to help purchase a birthday gift for a friend's niece. She was instructed to purchase a $500 Google Play card and email the numbers on the back of the card to her friend.

After purchasing the card and emailing the numbers, the victim realized she had fallen for a scam, and then called police.

Investigators determined the friend, who resides in Florida, had her email contacts recently hacked.

Police urge residents to be vigilant when receiving emails from people asking to buy gift cards or sending numbers via email or over the phone.