The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office is warning of an elaborate phone scam that cost a Wichita man $15,000.

The DA’s Office said the man, who is in his 70s, received a call from someone who claimed to be with Amazon.  The caller told the man his Amazon account had been compromised and he was being used as part of a drug-trafficking and money-laundering operation.  The caller then said he was transferring the man to the Social Security Administration, and that person then said the call was being transferred to the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

The fake U.S. Marshal told the man that he needed to prove he wasn’t laundering money through his bank accounts, and to do that he needed to withdraw $15,000 from his bank account in Wichita.  The victim was then told to drive to Newton to purchase Bitcoin to send to the suspect.   The victim was then told it was not enough money and he was to return to his bank to make another withdrawal.  Employees at the bank explained to the man that this was a scam and they urged him to make a police report.    A report was also made with the FBI.

The DA’s Office is reminding residents that Amazon, the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Marshal’s Service will never call anyone to say their account has been hacked and they will not ask anyone to send money.