Woman loses $10,000 in phone warrant scam

New Albany Police Chief Chris Robertson is again asking NEMiss.news to warn the public to be aware of phone scams after a local woman lost more than $10,000 to one.

“We get calls every day about scams,” he said. “Most people have become very suspicious and don’t fall for them but every once in a while someone will.”

The chief said victims tend to be older people or possibly Hispanic or other nationalities that could be worried about Green Card or other immigration status.

In the most recent case cited by Robertson, the victim received a call purportedly from law enforcement saying her Social Security number had come up in a financial narcotics investigation.

She was told she needed to come up with a large amount of money immediately to avoid warrants for her arrest. She did so.

Another scam Robertson said is being used is calls appearing to come from the Social Security Administration. “They will say your Social Security number has been used fraudulently and they need to re-verify your number,” he said. Of course if there is anyone who should already know your number, it is Social Security itself.

Still another tells the victim he or she has just won a 2020 vehicle, but just needs to pay a licensing and transfer fee to receive the vehicle.

One red flag should be that no legitimate law enforcement or government agency is going to ask you for money over the phone. If you are being told to get a cash card specifically, that should be another warning. Once you use that card you have virtually no chance of getting any of the money back (the same is true with a debit card but one might have more chance of success with a credit card, if one is used).

Sadly, the chief said, the local woman victim has lost more than $10,000 she will never see again. In the past, a few individuals have lost much larger amounts to scams.

Unfortunately, potential victims can no longer rely on Caller ID to help prevent scams. Technology has advanced to the level that scammers can disguise their apparent phone numbers to appear to be a local government office or familiar business.

One local person received a call this past week that appeared to be from BNA Bank concerning “problems” with an order from Amazon for more than $400. Since the victim had not ordered anything from Amazon he disconnected the call and, fortunately, a quick check of bank accounts showed no such charge.

“I’m afraid this will only increase with the holidays approaching,” Robertson said of the scams. He just hopes that people will remain alert and question any sort of phone request for funds or for any form of personal information such as Social Security number, address or financial information.

Some other forms of scams seen in the area:

• A phone call saying you owe a fee back for your coronavirus stimulus check.
• You receive a call purporting to be from a grandchild or military service member saying the person has been wrongly arrested – possibly in a foreign country – or has COVID-19. In either case they need money sent to an address immediately to avoid prison or receive emergency medical treatment.
• You receive a call from someone saying they are raising money for some charitable effort, often for law enforcement or other emergency responders. These often pop up after natural disasters. Legitimate charities will not call and ask for money over the phone.
• You receive a check, often for a large amount, supposedly as a prize or award, but are asked to send a part of it back after you deposit it because it was an overpayment. If you deposit the fraudulent check you will owe your bank for the full amount and any money you send back will be lost as well.
• You receive an unsolicited check in the mail. This may be a real check but if you sign and cash it you may be committing yourself to sizeable purchases or long-term plans you will have to pay for.
• You are told you have won a lottery or other contest but need to pay some sort of fees. Independently verify the win first; you should not have to send any fees.

If you receive any calls of these sorts the best thing is to hang up. However, you may be able to get some information about the scam. Either way, call local law enforcement or the state auditor or attorney general’s office, and the public service commission may be able to provide some protection from future scam calls.