She sent $32,000 to scammers who claimed to be from the IRS. Here’s how the scam worked

Editor’s note: This blotter is compiled from recent Gig Harbor police reports and Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One fire reports.

They called pretending to be the IRS. She sent them money

A Gig Harbor police officer met with a woman in her 80s on May 11 who said she got scammed.

When the officer arrived in the lobby of Heron’s Key, the woman told him she hoped the scammers would call while he was there.

They did.

The caller ID appeared to be from the nearby hospital, according to the police report.

The officer took the phone and advised the suspect he was talking with police. The officer questioned the suspect, who refused to answer any questions and eventually hung up.

“I could hear him consulting another in the background before he hung up,” the officer wrote.

Text messages on the woman’s phone showed the scam began May 1.

“She had been contacted by numerous males and females, some providing fake IRS documents stating she owed money,” the police report said.

The woman went and bought gift cards, then sent the gift cards and a cashier’s check via mail.

On May 8 she sent a $32,000 personal check via UPS to someone in Pueblo West, Colorado.

It appears the check was cashed at an unknown location.

She also sent a cashier’s check for $28,000 to someone in Kiowa, Kansas. Bank officials called the woman. They suspected it could be fraudulent and prevented the scammers from cashing it.

The woman sent two other checks with unknown amounts that also did not get cashed, according to the report.

At one time she also sent someone a picture of her drivers license and Alaska Airlines credit card via text message.

Her daughter assured her this was a scam and told her mother she needed to call the police.

In total, the woman confirmed she lost $32,500.

The officer looked over and saw 4 suspects wearing ski masks

While sitting in his car handling paperwork May 9, a Gig Harbor police officer saw a car pull into the parking lot near 4421 Point Fosdick Dr.

The car had four suspects with ski masks hiding their faces, according to the police report.

When the suspects saw the officer they immediately stopped and started to go backward, the way they came.

Another car pulled up behind the suspects and had to swerve to avoid a collision, the police report said.

The officer pulled out to follow the vehicle, but couldn’t immediately get behind it due to traffic. He was also unable to get the plate number.

He wrote that the car was driving at a fast speed and running red lights.

The officer ended his pursuit and began checking with nearby business about whether the suspects had committed any crimes.

Minutes later a witness reported four individuals looking into cars near 3304 56th St.

The officer drove to 56th Street and found two vehicles with broken windows.

“They were obviously prowled,” the officer wrote.

The only thing that seemed to be missing was a lunch box, the car owners told the officer.

Barbecue gone bad

Someone called Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One May 10 and said there was a fire in their neighbor’s yard.

When firefighters arrived on the scene of the home in the 7800 block of 28th Street Court Northwest they learned the homeowner had been cooking outside with a propane grill, according to the report.

“While the homeowner went in the house, the gas grill experienced a grease fire that dripped to the propane tank catching the tank valve on fire, which then caught nearby vegetation on fire,” the fire report said.

The fire was almost out by the time GHFMO arrived. Crews extinguished the last of it.

The fire did not extend to the house and no injuries were reported.