FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – An Army veteran becomes the victim of a social security scam, after nine months of serving the US military in Syria.
22-year-old Ruben Diaz was convinced by con artists impersonating Army staff that his social security information had been stolen by a Mexican drug cartel to launder money.
They told him to send $30,000 to an address in New York.
They continued their deception when they instructed him to meet with an agent from the Inspector General’s Office on September 30.
They told him is was a classified investigation
He did as as they instructed, and went to the site but that person never showed-up in what turned out to be a ruse.
Fresno Police detectives are working on the case with detectives from the New York Police Department.
Diaz is not the first person to be duped by a scam.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2018 more than $6 million dollars was stolen by fraud, while more than 9,000 active duty service members said they were victims of identity theft.
More than 42,000 Army veterans or their dependents reported a loss of $31 million dollars.
To report an identity theft crime, contact local law enforcement or file with the FTC by clicking here.
DIaz’s mother set up a GoFundMe PAGE to help her son. Link here.
Click to hear the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
