BROOKINGS – Brookings Police are warning the public to be wary after a scammer got away with thousands of dollars posing as an FBI agent, Lt. Marci Gebers said.

“No legitimate business or law enforcement agency is gonna request payment in gift card form,” she said.

The incident was reported at 1:36 p.m. Saturday, Gebers said.

“The scammer said that they were with the FBI and that the victim’s Social Security number had been frozen due to fraud,” Gebers said.

The victim lost approximately $2,000 in gift cards, she added.

“We would just like to remind people that this is a very common way that these scammers obtain money from victims, is asking for gift cards,” Gebers said. “They can always contact our local law enforcement if they ever get a phone call like this.”

Gebers said agencies like the FBI wouldn’t call you for a situation like this. 

If you do get a visit from someone with an agency, there are ways to check if they’re real, she added.

“If there’s ever any law enforcement agency that has any business with you, I would just request to see identification … They will not have any problems identifying themselves with their identification,” Gebers said.

If you still have doubts, call the Brookings Police at 692-2113.

“Chances are, the law enforcement agency will have been in contact with us locally if they’re gonna be doing any business in town,” Gebers said. “We can always check in with our FBI contacts or whatever agency. We have our local contacts that we can verify information with.”