Cereal boxes and FaceTime? Clay County Sheriff’s Office warns of bizarre new scam costing victims thousands

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is dealing with five cases of a new, and bizarre, “cereal box scam.”Detectives say suspects are posing as bank representatives and instructing victims to withdraw large sums of cash and conceal it inside cereal boxes.The scheme begins with a phone call — sometimes made via FaceTime — from someone claiming to be from the victim’s bank fraud department.“When you receive a call via FaceTime, an email address will pop up,” said detective Michael Antonini with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. “That email address will say the financial institution’s name and part of the email address, so it just adds to the realism. These victims are under the impression they are cooperating.”Callers pressure victims to stay on the line and warn them that something bad could happen if they hang up. If the bank teller starts asking questions during the withdrawal, victims are told to lie — telling staff the money is for “home improvement” or another large project.Once victims