Huntingdon police warn of old scam with new twist

HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — An old scam has come back around with a new twist.

Recently, a Huntingdon woman attempted to buy a rental property she saw online. Unfortunately, Huntingdon police Commander Johnny Hill says the man alleging to be the seller did not own any of the property.

“It all seemed legit because the way the property was listed, had photographs over the internet of the property, she was actually able to even go look at the property,” Hill said.

Hill says the scammer then asked the woman to send money and gift cards to secure their bid. Hill said this should have been a tip-off.

“That’s usually just a dead giveaway that you’ve got a scam, if they’re trying to get you to purchase any type of card or to send something like that, where they can pick it up basically anywhere in the world,” Hill said.

Huntingdon police warn that while these scams typically affect elderly people, this recent victim was a younger woman.

As for the twist? Hill says the scammer provided a bank account number and routing number, which is unusual in cases like this.

Hill reminds people that if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

“If somebody is asking you to send them money like that before they provide prizes or before they do anything, probably best just to hang up on them and not even talk to them,” Hill said.