A U. of I. student reported that she was the victim of a phone scam Sept. 18 and lost $7,000. At about 9:30 a.m., she received a call from an unknown person claiming to be a representative of the U.S. Marshals Service and that her Social Security number was implicated in a money laundering and drug trafficking investigation. The caller directed her to withdraw cash from her bank and convert it into Bitcoin. When the victim was unable to do so, she was directed to instead visit local stores to purchase gift cards and transfer the card information to the caller.
