Elderly Quogue woman scammed out of $10G in Home Depot gift cards, police say

Police are looking for three people who used Home Depot gift cards bought by an elderly Quogue woman, who was told she needed to buy $10,000 worth of cards to clear child pornography from her computer, according to a release from Suffolk County Crime Stoppers.

The woman, who was not identified, was contacted electronically by someone claiming there was child pornography on her computer, the release said. She was directed to buy the gift cards, which she did from a Home Depot in Riverhead. She then provided the card information over the phone around 3 p.m. on Feb. 15, the release said.

Later that day, three people used the cards to make purchases at Home Depots in Suffolk, Nassau, Queens and Kings counties, the release said.

A cash reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest in the case. Anyonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, by using a mobile app that can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or by visiting www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.