Con artists are getting more creative and people are falling prey to new scams each day.
Law enforcement officials recommend never giving out personal information and always doing research before handing over any money.
“Unfortunately these people are getting more clever,” said Jane Koskela, Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Community Service Unit volunteer. “There’s a jillion of them out there.”
“Never, ever, ever give out personal information,” said Sgt. Dave Seawell, Calaveras County Sheriff’s spokesman.
When a young man recently called Sonora resident Barbara Davis, pretending to be her grandson, and called her “Grandma,” she knew something was up.
Davis was already wise to the shake-down after a friend received the same kind of call a week earlier and was almost a victim.
The scam goes typically like this — a young man will call pretending to be your grandson or nephew, but won’t give his name. He’ll say he’s in jail in Canada and needs you to wire him money for bail.
“He wouldn’t give his name, so I already knew it was a scam and gave him a fictitious name. I strung him along hoping to get more information to give to the police,” Davis said. “I knew I’d never be taken in by this because my grandson doesn’t call me ‘Grandma.’ ”
Davis agreed to send the $2,100 to the imposter and his so-called “attorney” then called to give her the information on where to send the money.
Davis asked for the lawyer’s number, but he refused to give it, giving an excuse about office hours being over.
Sonora Police Chief Mark Stinson recommends people who receive these kinds of calls to call another relative to verify the “grandson” actually is in Canada or wherever they claim to be.
“Don’t freely go down to Western Union,” Stinson said, adding that once wired, the window to get the money back is very limited.
Stinson said if the con artist gives a phone number to an alleged jail or lawyer, then look up the real number and double check all information.
“Most of these people when you ask them pinpointed questions, they get nervous and hang up,” Stinson said.
“Don’t feed them information. They try to make you feel bad that you can’t recognize your own grandson’s voice,” Davis said of the scammer waiting for her to say a name first. “I just hope to save other people from grief.”
Another popular scam is unsolicited letters saying you’ve won a large cash prize, but you can only collect it by cashing a money order or cashier’s check and sending the money back to the person or entity, who will then send you the large lump sum.
A letter came in the mail to Sonora resident Mike Speer’s wife, Kimberly. It included a check that was fraudulent for $2,500, that they were to cash and then send back so they could get their $250,000 winnings, Speer said.
Speer said the scam is especially dangerous in this down economy, where people may be tricked by something that is too good to be true.
The Speers aren’t listed in the phone book. But according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, third parties sell people’s information.
“I just want people to be aware that there are scams in our county,” Speer said. “There are so many people with financial hardships already.”
“You have to be so careful … And I feel sorry for elderly people who are alone … at the mercy of these people,” Davis said.
Another scam is targeting people in relation to their property taxes. According to a press release from the state Attorney General’s Office, companies are sending out deceptive mailers to homeowners offering help in reducing property tax assessments, if the homeowner pays the company hundreds of dollars in fees.
However, property tax reassessment is a free service provided by county tax assessors.
Con artists are getting more creative and people are falling prey to new scams each day.
Law enforcement officials recommend never giving out personal information and always doing research before handing over any money.
“Unfortunately these people are getting more clever,” said Jane Koskela, Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Community Service Unit volunteer. “There’s a jillion of them out there.”
“Never, ever, ever give out personal information,” said Sgt. Dave Seawell, Calaveras County Sheriff’s spokesman.
When a young man recently called Sonora resident Barbara Davis, pretending to be her grandson, and called her “Grandma,” she knew something was up.
Davis was already wise to the shake-down after a friend received the same kind of call a week earlier and was almost a victim.
The scam goes typically like this — a young man will call pretending to be your grandson or nephew, but won’t give his name. He’ll say he’s in jail in Canada and needs you to wire him money for bail.
“He wouldn’t give his name, so I already knew it was a scam and gave him a fictitious name. I strung him along hoping to get more information to give to the police,” Davis said. “I knew I’d never be taken in by this because my grandson doesn’t call me ‘Grandma.’ ”
Davis agreed to send the $2,100 to the imposter and his so-called “attorney” then called to give her the information on where to send the money.
Davis asked for the lawyer’s number, but he refused to give it, giving an excuse about office hours being over.
Sonora Police Chief Mark Stinson recommends people who receive these kinds of calls to call another relative to verify the “grandson” actually is in Canada or wherever they claim to be.
“Don’t freely go down to Western Union,” Stinson said, adding that once wired, the window to get the money back is very limited.
Stinson said if the con artist gives a phone number to an alleged jail or lawyer, then look up the real number and double check all information.
“Most of these people when you ask them pinpointed questions, they get nervous and hang up,” Stinson said.
“Don’t feed them information. They try to make you feel bad that you can’t recognize your own grandson’s voice,” Davis said of the scammer waiting for her to say a name first. “I just hope to save other people from grief.”
Another popular scam is unsolicited letters saying you’ve won a large cash prize, but you can only collect it by cashing a money order or cashier’s check and sending the money back to the person or entity, who will then send you the large lump sum.
A letter came in the mail to Sonora resident Mike Speer’s wife, Kimberly. It included a check that was fraudulent for $2,500, that they were to cash and then send back so they could get their $250,000 winnings, Speer said.
Speer said the scam is especially dangerous in this down economy, where people may be tricked by something that is too good to be true.
The Speers aren’t listed in the phone book. But according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, third parties sell people’s information.
“I just want people to be aware that there are scams in our county,” Speer said. “There are so many people with financial hardships already.”
“You have to be so careful … And I feel sorry for elderly people who are alone … at the mercy of these people,” Davis said.
Another scam is targeting people in relation to their property taxes. According to a press release from the state Attorney General’s Office, companies are sending out deceptive mailers to homeowners offering help in reducing property tax assessments, if the homeowner pays the company hundreds of dollars in fees.
However, property tax reassessment is a free service provided by county tax assessors.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office Community Service Unit plans to offer “Senior Scambuster Kits,” filled with information on hiring contractors, paying for funeral expenses, sweepstakes, lotteries, prizes and gifts, and how to make informed decisions on healthcare offers, etc.
The kit is from the California Department of Consumer Affairs. To contact the Sonora CSU office, call 536-9828. To reach their scam hotline, call 588-1221.
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department Community Services Unit offers information on fraud and detecting bad checks and counterfeit currency and identity theft.
To contact the Community Service Unit, call Pat Ross at 754-6029.
Law enforcement cannot do much unless someone has actually been victimized. However, all scam reports are forwarded to the FBI, Stinson said.
Prosecuting the con artists can be tricky, as the majority are outside the United States.
“About 99.9 percent of the time, they’re outside of the country,” Stinson said, adding that the majority are in Africa, Europe and now, some in Canada.
“If they have the Internet, they can research some of these scams. That’s where I’d start,” Seawell said.
If a person still has concerns, “I would recommend they call their local law enforcement agency,” Seawell said.
http://www.uniondemocrat.com/2009100297994/News/Local-News/Beware-Authorities-say-scammers-get-more-crafty
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