By Zach Rainey
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SPARTANBURG, South Carolina (WYFF) — Officers in Spartanburg, South Carolina, are investigating after an employee of a popular coffee shop was duped into sending thousands to a scammer impersonating a police officer.
On Sunday, officers with the Spartanburg Police Department responded to Spill the Beans regarding fraud.
The owner of Spill the Beans told police that an employee received a call from a person who claimed to be an officer. The “officer” asked to speak to a manager and the employee handed the phone over to the employee with the “most experience.”
According to the incident report, the employee who was handed the phone emptied out the cash registers, tip jars, and lock box after speaking with the “officer” for only a few minutes. The employee then left the store.
Before the officer arrived, the owner called back and updated the responding officer that the employee returned to the store and claimed she realized that she had been scammed.
The employee told the responding officer that the person who called claimed to be with “city police” and that he was working on a counterfeit case. The “officer” told her to take all the money out of the cash registers, tip jars and, the lock box from the back and to wait for further instructions.
After gathering all the money, she was instructed by the scammer to go to Family Dollar and transfer the money onto a Green Dot card that the scammer sent her.
Authorities said the scammer allegedly sent the employee to multiple locations to transfer money onto the Green Dot card, including:
Money sent within Spartanburg city limits:
– $800 at Family Dollar on West Main Street
Money sent outside Spartanburg city limits:
– $800 at the Dollar General on Reidville Road
– $1000 at the CVS on Reidville Road
– $1000 at the Food Lion on Reidville Road
According to the incident report, the “officer” then told her that it was still not enough money, so the employee went to her bank (Founders Federal Credit Union) on John B. White Sr. Boulevard and withdrew $1000. The employee then went to Dollar General on John B. White Sr. Blvd and sent the money.
The “officer” also attempted to have the employee send the money that she withdrew from her bank account through Venmo to the account Minnifield87. The name attached to the account was Lawrence Minnifield, which was discovered to most likely be a fictitious name, according to police.
According to officers, the owner of Spill the Beans chose not to press charges against the employee.
The investigation is still ongoing.
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