An 85-year-old South Shore woman was scammed out of $10,500 by an alleged fake “Apple Security” call, according to Hingham Police.

The caller told the woman her Apple account had been hacked and she needed to purchase gift cards to resolve the issue, police say.

She purchased $10,000 in Home Depot and $500 in Lowe’s gift cards. She then shared the gift card numbers with the scammers, which are then typically used immediately, police say.

Similar scams may claim to be “Windows Security” or the IRS, say police.

The woman reported the scam to Hingham Police on Sept. 15 and her family notified her financial institutions to further monitor the situation.

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