Caller scams Woodbridge woman out of $16K in Google Play cards

WOODBRIDGE — Today's message from police: No branch of the U.S. government wants to be paid in Google Play cards.

Township police issued a warning about a new scam that cost a township woman $16,000 after she received a call from someone who claimed to be from "Homeland Security" and informed her of a warrant being out for her arrest on drug traffic and money laundering charges.

Plus, according to the caller, her Social Security number had been used to open 18 bank accounts and a half dozen credit cards.

After getting the woman to open a new bank account, the caller successfully got the woman to share all her user names, passwords and gift card numbers.

The caller said the criminal matter could be taken care of with a payment of Google gift cards.

"The federal government doesn't want your iTtunes gift cards. We get it all the time," police Capt. Scott Kuzman told New Jersey 101.5.

Kuzman said variations of the scam include calls from a purported IRS agent or a call claiming that a friend is jailed overseas.

"If you or anyone you know ever receive one of these calls please contact the Woodbridge Police Department or the local police department before making any type of payment," Kuzman said.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ