Apex Target cashier, security specialist save elder from gift card scam

File this one under stories we love: a Target cashier and security specialist teamed up to save a Triangle elder from a gift card scam.

"This is a perfect example of how we should look out for each other and that NO legitimate agency will EVER ask for gift cards," wrote the Apex Police Department on Facebook.

According to Apex police, on November 15, 2019, a Target cashier alerted a store security specialist that a shopper was purchasing a large number of gift cards.

Nothing that unusual about that, especially close to the holidays. But the man was a senior, and police say the security worker, Kenneth Jeffers, was able to help him understand that he was about to be the victim of a scam by persons who had manipulated him into thinking that he needed to buy the cards.

It's a relatively common scam, usually undertaken by phone, in which deceivers prey on the vulnerable, often the elderly, convincing their victims that they need to buy large numbers of gift cards to settle a utility bill, bail for a loved one, or in connection with a hacked account.

Since gift cards are involved, the crime leaves no trace, and victims are out of luck.

An officer bought a gift for Jeffers, to recognize his efforts in helping a vulnerable member of the community.

We'd like to thank the cashier, too.

View the department's Facebook post here.