$32,000 scam led to Wednesday’s suspicious package scare in Lincoln, police say

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A scam that cheated a 69-year-old out of $32,000 led to Wednesday’s suspicious package scare in Lincoln, according to police.

The Lincoln Police Department said this all began back in May, when the man was contacted by someone claiming that he had won $18 million.

They then instructed him to send several checks worth $32,000 to an unknown person.

He was eventually sent a briefcase that was supposed to contain documents about his winnings, but the man was also told not to open it.

The scammer said doing so would trigger a mechanism that destroys everything inside.

Someone else then told the man to contact the police, so he went to the Hall of Justice.

Ninth Street was shut down around noon after the briefcase was scanned through security.

Authorities used a “water cannon shot” and determined that there was nothing dangerous inside, just random papers.