BERLIN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A man trying to scam a 74-year-old North Plains Township man out of money ended up calling in a bomb threat at an Ionia County Verizon store after the man refused to send any money.
The incident started at about 4 p.m. Thursday when the man went to the Verizon store, 3192 Commerce Ln, to buy more minutes for his prepaid cell phone, according to the Ionia County Sheriff’s Department. He was under the impression that he had won millions of dollars but had to send money overseas to pay for taxes and fees before the money would be sent to him, officials said.
Employees at the store told the man they were unable to sell him minutes for his brand of phone, so he used their business phone to call the scammer back. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the man then realized he was being scammed and told the caller he would not be sending money.
After the man left the store, officials say the scammer called back and said he was going to come to the store and “kill them all with a rifle and detonate a bomb in the store.”
Investigators determined that the call came from overseas, according to the sheriff’s department. Police say they spoke with the 74-year-old man later that day and he was unaware of what happened after he left the store.
