A Las Vegas woman was scammed out of thousands of dollars after she handed over her credit card to a scammer that showed up at her door.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared her experience with KVVU, revealing how she was tricked into handing over her credit card to a scammer at her doorstep.
The scam began when the woman received a call from someone who appeared to be her bank.
The caller ID displayed her bank’s name, making the call seem legitimate.
The person on the other end of the line directed her to check her account, where she found two fraudulent transactions.
Pretending to be alarmed, the scammers offered to send an associate to her house to assist her further.
Within 10 minutes, a person showed up at her home with an “access code” and requested her credit card.
The scammer then cut the card in half, taking care not to damage the chip.
He then fled with the cut card, which allowed them to continue making transactions, ultimately stealing $9,000 (£7,000) from her account.
The events were captured on the woman’s home security camera.
The footage shows her handing over the card to the scammer, who then used a pair of scissors to cut the card and tuck it into an envelope.
During the entire interaction, the victim remained on the phone with the original caller.
Only after realising she had been locked out of her online bank account did she understand the gravity of the situation.
“I said, ‘I’m in trouble here, something is not right with this,’ and I just quietly hung up,” the woman recounted.
She insisted that she never volunteered information like her home address, suggesting that the scammers already had it.
Immediately after the incident, she contacted her actual bank, closed her accounts, and changed her passwords.
A bank representative informed her that the scammers had gained access to her account as soon as they called, and her handing over the card only made it easier for them to execute their scheme.
“It’s embarrassing to come forward and say that you fell for something like this, that you opened your door and handed something so valuable to a complete stranger,” the woman admitted.
Despite her swift actions, she has yet to recover the stolen $9,000.
This scam is not an isolated incident in the Las Vegas area.
On May 28, local police announced the arrest of Emmanuel Almonor, 32, who was operating a similar scheme.
Almonor allegedly contacted victims using spoofed phone numbers, claiming their debit cards had been compromised.
He then visited their homes, posing as a bank employee and asking for their cards for “destruction,” only to use them himself for unauthorized charges and money transfers.
Authorities are investigating whether the two incidents are connected, but they have declined to provide further details due to the ongoing investigation.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the lengths scammers will go to and underscores the importance of verifying the identity of anyone requesting personal information or access to financial accounts.
