A Saline County man is bilked out of thousands of dollars in cash after falling victim to a phone scam.

Saline County Undersheriff Brent Melander tells KSAL News that a 59-year-old man who lives in the northwest part of the county was contacted by a man over the phone who claimed to be the chief counsel of the Social Security office.

The scammer told the victim his Social Security card had been found in a wrecked car in Texas with blood stains inside the vehicle – and that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. The scammer convinced the man to avoid jail time, he could purchase $6,200 in gift cards and give him the code numbers.

The victim told investigators he stayed on the phone with the criminal as he visited Walmart, Sam’s Club and Target to buy the cards and pass him the numbers.

After contemplating the situation, the victim called the man to see if he could get his money back, the scammer said he could start the refund process with a $1,000 pre-payment.

The man hung up and called the Saline County Sheriff’s Office instead.