Police: Quogue Woman Scammed Out Of $10,000

A woman in Quogue, described by police as elderly, was scammed out of $10,000 by suspects Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Riverhead Town Police are asking the public to help identify. Store surveillance cameras caught images of three individuals at Home Depot locations across Long Island.

The victim was contacted electronically in February and was told she had child pornography on her computer. She was told it would take $10,000 to clear and was directed to buy gift cards in that sum.

The woman bought the cards at Home Depot in Riverhead and gave the card information to the scammers on February 15 at approximately 3 p.m., according to police.

Later that day, three suspects used the cards for purchases, police said.

Home Depot’s exchange policy of giving cash back for returned items at any store makes it a preferred spot for scammers to purchase goods, then return them later for money, police said.

At the end of 2021, the Federal Trade Commission reported a whopping $148 million in gift cards had been lost in scams during the first nine months of the year. Nearly 40,000 consumers reported being targeted by scammers impersonating representatives from government agencies or large corporations.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Submit a tip to the agency by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, texting SCPD and your message to CRIMES or emailing p3tips.com. All calls, emails, and texts are kept confidential, police said.