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Western Union phone scam warning for businesses

Caller clams to be from Western Union, steals thousand from two Eastpointe store owners

EASTPOINTE, Mich. Two Metro Detroit party stores both became victims of a crime that even the best security cameras couldn't catch.

The thieves are not coming into the store or even going up to the counter, instead they are stealing thousands over the phone.

"You receive the phone call and it says on your caller id Western Union," said David Yakeera the owner of One Stop Liquor in Eastpointe.

Yakeera says he received a call last Tuesday from what appeared to be Western Union. The caller claimed he was disconnected online from their main office.

"They said go to this website," said Yakeera. He followed the instruction given to him over the phone and then someone logged into his account and robbed him blindly with not one but several wire transfers.

"It was almost $9,000 and when I received another phone call from Western Union they said, 'Did you do these transactions?' I said, 'I have not done any transaction for last couple of days,' then they told me it's a fraud," said Yakeera.

A few days later and just a few blocks over Van's Liquor Store was hit the same way.

The suspect may not have been caught on camera, but the caller appeared to be a woman using a phone number with a Florida area code of 941.

"She got us for five transactions, the total was almost $7,000," said store owner Haitham Karana.

Police reports for both crimes have been filed and an investigation is on-going.

At this point both owners aren't sure if they will recoup the money that was lost.

If you have any information on either one of these crimes or if you have been a victim, Eastpointe police ask that you give them a call.