State police at Fern Ridge said an 80-year-old Albrightsville man received an attempted theft by deception telephone call. Someone tried to get him to purchase gift cards to reimburse “Amazon” for a supposed blunder sales transaction.

Police said the man received a call from someone claiming to be from the “Amazon Cancellation Department,” who told the man his account was compromised when someone used it to purchase an iPhone 11 for $900. The caller said Amazon accidentally reimbursed the man’s account $12,000 and that to rectify the supposed overpayment, the man needed to go to a local CVS or Home Depot to purchase $300 in gift cards. The man was told if he did not comply with those instructions a sheriff would respond to his home and place him under arrest.

Police said the man knew he did not have an Amazon account and disconnected the call.