Man accused of impersonating Microsoft employee, scamming Kansas man out of $50K
A 43-year-old man was arrested after impersonating a Microsoft employee and scamming a Kansas man out of $50,000, police said.
The incident occurred Oct. 30 when Great Bend police officers were sent to a home on a report of a financial scam. The victim told police he was called by someone claiming to be a Microsoft employee and said he was working with the victim’s local bank, a Great Bend Police news release said.
The suspect convinced the victim that the bank’s accounts and his personal information were compromised, and that he would “need to provide money to correct the compromised information and coerced the victim into withdrawing $50,000 and then relinquishing the money to a delivery driver,” police reported.
Great Bend police identified the suspect, a 43-year-old man from Dallas, Texas. Investigators learned that he returned to Texas following the scam. Authorities located his vehicle using FLOCK license plate readers and obtained an arrest warrant.
Investigators traveled to Dallas on Dec. 16 and began a surveillance on the suspect. Great Bend detectives, with help from Dallas police, arrested the man and booked him into jail on Dec. 17. He will be extradited to Great Bend to face charges, according to police.
A second suspect, a 42-year-old man from Traverse City, Michigan, was arrested Oct. 31 when he went to the victim’s Great Bend home in an attempt to retrieve more money.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call Great Bend police at 620-793-4120 or Crime Stoppers at 620-792-1300.
Great Bend is located about 100 miles northwest of Wichita.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 4:30 PM.