Myrtle Beach man charged in online scam

The Horry County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Myrtle Beach man in connection to a scam involving merchandise on Amazon.

Daniel James McKeon Sr., 54, of Myrtle Beach was arrested and charged Wednesday with obtaining goods under false pretenses more than $2,000 and less than $10,000. He remains jailed at J. Reuben Detention Center on a $2,500 bond, according to jail records.

Officers with the Horry County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence near River Oaks in Myrtle Beach Tuesday for a follow-up investigation involving a possible theft of goods, according to Sgt. Sherri Smith, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.

As a result of the investigation, officers were informed about a scam involving merchandise being sold on Amazon, Smith said. Deputies recovered $8,000 worth of stolen merchandise and officers identified four individuals – from four states – who were victims of the scam, Smith said.

The victims had posted items for sale on amazon and a person posing as an Amazon representative would email the victims and say their item had sold, Smith said. The “fake” Amazon representative told the victims the buyers paid for the items and deposited the money with Amazon, but said the money would not show up in the victim’s account until they shipped the items.

The victims “were told by the scammers to ship the items next day priority to an address in Myrtle Beach,” Smith said.

When the victims requested payment for the shipped items, the fake Amazon representative would say the buyer never received the items. The victims then contacted Amazon directly and were told “the exchange was a scam and that Amazon had no knowledge of a buyer for their items, as their items were still showing as for sale on their site,” Smith said.

The items were being shipped to a Myrtle Beach address and the resident of that address would then send the packages to Nigeria, Smith said.

Smith warns everyone to be cautious of scams and to avoid clicking on links sent in emails because they could redirect to a fake page.

“If you have any questions about scams or if you think you have been scammed, you can contact the S.C. Consumer Affairs Office, the Better Business Bureau or call the Horry County Sheriff’s Office,” she said.

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach man charged in online scam."