Police respond to gift card swindle

A 44-year-old Myrtle Beach woman was swindled out of nearly $3,000 after receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service who allegedly requested she put thousands on Apple iTunes gift cards due to a glitch in her income taxes.

Myrtle Beach police were called about 8:30 a.m. Monday to a home along South Kings Highway where the victim reported the incident, authorities said.

The victim told police she received a call from someone who identified himself as “Derrick Smith” and who said her 2012 income taxes needed to be fixed, according to a police report.

The victim said she put $2,800 on an Apple iTunes gift card and gave the suspect the number on the back, authorities said.

The victim told police she didn’t realize it was a scam until a friend told her the IRS would not call her and request she put money on a gift card.

Police contacted the number the victim received the call from and spoke with a man who didn’t give his name. He asked the officer if he looked in the mirror lately, then hung up, according to the report.

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 7:55 AM with the headline "Police respond to gift card swindle."