(May 8, 2025) — The Cape Coral Police Department’s Economic Crimes Unit warns of a new trend: Courier Scams.
There are a lot of ways this scam can look, but the unit has received several complaints from people who are out hundreds of thousands of dollars due to this scam. The fraudster contacts a victim by phone, text, or email and coerces them into taking money out of their bank account and putting it into another form that the criminals can access. The scammer often claims to be a police officer, a federal agent, or someone working for the IRS or a bank. They create a sense of urgency and fear in the victim by saying things like, “You need to do this now to prevent yourself from getting arrested” or “The bank isn’t working in your best interest; they’re going to steal your money, so you need to go right now to take it out.” A legitimate institution will never ask you to do this. This is a scam.
The victims empty their bank accounts, deposit the money into a Bitcoin machine or turn it into gold bars, put it into a duffel bag, and it gets picked up by a courier.
This scam is being reported nationwide.
Additionally, if these scammers send you a link, do not open it. This allows them to install software on your phone that can compromise your information and lead to identity theft or the theft of your money.
Remember: You should never take large sums of money out of your bank account at the request of someone over the phone, through text, or through email. If you get a call, text, or email like this, call the Cape Coral Police Department at our non-emergency phone number: 239-574-3223.
Soundbites related to this type of scam from Economic Crimes Unit Detective Christopher Simonds can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIrNBHOgyRk