Authorities are warning residents in southwest suburban Palos Park against scammers staging a fake delivery, then stealing the victims’ debit card information.
In a recent incident, a victim had thousands of dollars stolen from credit card information given to a fake delivery man, according to a statement from Palos Park police.
A caller claiming to be from “Express Couriers” asked the victim if they were going to be home because a package needed to be delivered that required a signature, police said. About an hour later, a uniformed delivery man arrived with a basket of flowers and a bottle of wine.
When the victim asked who the sender was, the delivery man said, “I don’t know, I’m only delivering the package,” police said. The victim was then told that, because the gift contained alcohol, there was a $3.50 “delivery/ verification charge.”
The victim offered to pay cash, but was told the delivery company required payment by credit or debit card only, police said.
The delivery man provided a mobile card machine and asked the victim to enter his PIN, police said. A receipt was printed and the victim was given a copy of the transaction.
Within four days, thousands of dollars were charged or withdrawn from the victim’s account at various ATMs, police said. The mobile credit card machine used by the delivery man obtained all of the victim’s information, including his PIN.
Police advised residents to be wary of accepting any “surprise gift or package” that is neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package.
