The Fort Walton Beach Police Department responded to a fraud report on Jan. 17, according to a press release.
- The victim received a phone call from a woman identifying herself as Sarah, who claimed to be an employee of Navy Federal Credit Union. The caller told the victim her account had been compromised and instructed her to transfer $1,200 to Cash App, which she did.
The following day, the victim was contacted again, this time by a man claiming to be with Navy Federal Credit Union. He instructed her to withdraw $19,000 and overnight it to an address in Fort Pierce.
The victim later became suspicious and contacted the Fort Walton Beach Police Department.
Through the efforts of patrol officers, the Criminal Investigations Unit, the Evidence Unit and with assistance from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, the package containing the $19,000 in cash was tracked and intercepted at the FedEx facility in Mossy Head. The money was returned to the victim.
Police reminded residents that if someone calls claiming to be from their bank, they should hang up and call the bank directly using the number on their account statement. Police also warned against mailing cash to someone not personally known.
