Rochester man scammed out of $2.4K in phone scam

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A 25-year-old Rochester man was scammed out of more than $2,400 in a phone scam over the weekend.

According to Rochester Police Department, a hostess at a restaurant received a phone call in Spanish and asked the man, an employee, if he could translate the call for her. He agreed to translate the call and spoke to someone claiming to be from Federal Express International.

The person on the phone said they were attempting to deliver a surprise package for a manager at the restaurant, and asked the man to pay for the delivery fees.

The caller claimed the money would be reimbursed through an app called Remitly. The man downloaded the app and was asked to give a copy of his driver’s license. He then transferred his own money from an ATM to bitcoin.

Later, he got a notification from the app saying more than $2,400 had been taken out of his account. The scammers then tried to take another $500 from his account, but there was nothing left for them to take.

The man has not gotten his money back at this time.