Township resident falls for $3,500 phone scam

A Bloomfield Township resident discovered on Wednesday, March 4, he had become the victim of a phone scam after he bought and sent $3,500 worth of gift cards from Target and Ebay following directions from a caller. The resident, who lives in the 1700 block of Hamilton Drive, came into the Bloomfield Township police station to report that he realized he had fallen victim to a a phone scam. He told police that on Monday, March 2, he received a call from someone named “Mark Wilson,” who appeared to know all of his personal information and told the resident he was eligible for a “special bank account with rewards.” Wilson told the victim all he needed to do was to apply by sending him $3,500 in gift cards from Target and Ebay. On Tuesday, March 3, the victim purchased the gift cards, providing Wilson with the redemption codes. The next day, the resident received another call from Wilson, who told him he needed to send him a $200 money gram from Western Union in order to complete the application. The victim said he thought this was suspicious, so he went to his bank to report the incident. The bank informed him he was the victim of a scam, and told him to report the incident to police. Bloomfield Township police said the case is currently under investigation.