PSCO warns of debit, credit card scam targeting seniors

WINTER HAVEN (FOX 13) - The Polk County Sheriff's Office is warning about a new debit and credit card scam targeting senior citizens.

So far, two people have fallen victim to scammers who promise to send them new EMC chipped credit or debit cards if they put their old cards under their doormat.

"They're using the ruse that this is going to be a really safe and secure credit card so you need to get rid of that old and unsafe credit card, and that's how they're tricking them into thinking this is a good idea," Polk County Sheriff's Office Spokesperson Scott Wilder said.

One victim said she was taken for thousands of dollars when a "very professional sounding" woman claimed to be from Mid-Florida Credit Union.

"She told me to put the card in an envelope," She said. "And put it under the doormat in front of my door, which I did."

Within an hour, the envelope holding her debit card was gone.

The sheriff's office said no reputable bank will ever collect cards from your door or under a door mat.

Wilder suggested, "Hang up and call the bank yourself, and see what this is all about. Ninety-nine times out of 100, it's going to be a scam."

Surveillance video captured a man cashing in with one of the stolen cards. Polk investigators are trying to identify him.