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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010_10_20_Telephone Scammers using Local Law Enforcement for Credibility BAKERSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE Greg Williamson, Chief of Police ________________________________________________________________________ Contact: Sergeant Mary DeGeare Public Information Officer 661-326-3803 mdegeare@Bakersfieldpd.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 20, 2010 The Bakersfield Police Department investigated a telephone scam today which was very similar to the two scams reported recently to the Kern County Sheriff’s Department. The near victim in the police department case is an 82 year old woman whose adult daughter intercepted the phone call. The telephone scammer initially called on Tuesday, 10/19/10, and identified himself as an agent with the F.B.I. He informed the woman that her mother had won a million dollars through Publisher’s Clearinghouse but that someone else was using a fraudulent death certificate to claim the money in her behalf. He went on to tell her that the F.B.I. had resolved the issue related to the fraudulent claim but that she needed to provide $3000 up front as a show of good faith. He told her that the investigation had been turned over to the Bakersfield Police Department and someone would be calling her back to reassure her it was legitimate. On Wednesday, 10/20/10, the same man called back, only this time he identified himself as “Lieutenant Willoughby” with the Bakersfield Police Department. The man reassured her that the situation was legitimate and he encouraged her to work with the F.B.I. agent in order to claim her winnings. On Wednesday, 10/20/10, the man called back a third time identifying himself again as the F.B.I. agent who initially contacted her and encouraged her to send her $3000 through Western Union and initiate the process so she could claim her Publisher’s Clearinghouse winnings. The woman recognized all three callers to be the same person and was confident her mother was being scammed and therefore declined to participate any further. The woman contacted the Bakersfield Police Department and spoke to the real Lieutenant Willoughby, who is the daytime Watch Commander for the Bakersfield Police department, who confirmed for her that the situation was not legitimate and an officer was sent to her residence to investigate. It appears the scammers have targeted the elderly in all of these situations. Remember, only scammers ask for money up front. Legitimate organizations do not operate in that manner. Scroll down…… The following is the news release sent by the Kern County Sheriff’s Department on 10/19/10. Kern County Sheriff’s Office Warns Public to be on Lookout for New Telephone Scams This is a news release of the Kern County Sheriff's Office. Please do not contact the Sheriff's Communications Center. Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Time: 11:19:26 AM Department Contact: Ray Pruitt -PIO Phone: 661-303-4592 The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public of two new possible telephone scams that have been investigated by the Sheriff’s Office recently. In the first incident, a sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the home of an elderly Bakersfield resident to check his welfare. The reporting party indicated he was calling from outside the United States and reported the elderly resident was ill and his phone had been disconnected. The deputy was asked to check on the elderly resident, obtain his telephone billing information and call the reporting party back with the billing information so the reporting party could pay to have the phone service re-connected. The deputy made contact with the elderly resident at his home and determined he did not need any assistance. The deputy provided the resident with the reporting party’s name and asked the resident if he knew the caller. The resident indicated the caller had previously contacted him and told him he had won a lottery prize of 2.5 million dollars and asked the resident to send him money to collect his winnings. The resident told the deputy he knew the call was a scam so he did not send money. The caller had attempted to re-contact the resident but he stopped accepting the calls. His phone had not been disconnected. The phone number provided by the reporting party to sheriff’s dispatch was later determined to be a false phone number. In the second incident, a citizen reported he had been contacted on the phone by a person who represented himself as an FBI agent. The caller said he was investigating a sweepstake prize that the citizen had won, but had subsequently been stolen prior to the citizen collecting the prize. The citizen immediately became suspicious and began asking the caller questions, at which time the caller told the citizen he would have a local law enforcement officer contact him with further details. A couple of days later the citizen received a call from a person who identified himself by name as the Sheriff’s Office Burglary and Theft Unit Sergeant. The caller said he was calling for the FBI to provide further information about the stolen sweepstakes prize. The citizen noticed on his Caller-ID that the call was received from an area code outside of Kern County and confronted the caller who immediately hung up. The citizen was later able to contact the Burglary and Theft Unit Sergeant and reported to the sergeant that the caller had used the sergeant’s name when calling him. Further investigation revealed that the phone number used by the caller, 416-238-0000, is commonly listed in complaints as being used in numerous telephone scams across the United States. Both of the incidents are examples of new scams being used by telephone scammers. The public is asked to be wary of any person attempting to obtain personal information over the phone. Also, if a citizen is ever in doubt about a caller who identifies themselves as a law enforcement officer, ask the caller for a name and call back number. If the caller refuses, discontinue the call. The public is also asked to report any suspicious telephone activity to their local law enforcement agency.