It seems as quickly as you hear about one scam it disappears and another one starts. The latest scam that is circulating involves an individual claiming to be from a law enforcement agency. The scammer typically threatens to arrest the victim if they don’t pay the fines for some fabricated crime or debt. To make matters worse the crooks often have some personal information about the victim, which make them seem more legitimate.
Recently the Indiana State Police have received complaints about this scam. A state police detective investigating the complaint turned the tables on the scammer and called him. The man claiming to work for the Indiana State Police didn’t answer so the detective left a message and the man called back. The scammer proceeded to tell the detective that he had a warrant for his arrest. He explained that in order to take care of it and avoid being arrested at work the detective would need to buy two green dot money packs for $1,000 and then call him back with the account number. The conversation that lasted more than 30 minutes eventually ended after the scammer was fully convinced that he was talking to the police.
Next we are experiencing “Collection Agents” who are claiming that you owe money to companies or on-line companies that you have written a check to in the past that has either “bounced” or has not “cleared”.
The problem is they somehow they know who you have actually written a check in the past and this is what starts the argument. The victim then begins to dispute the call and as you talk to the “Collector” more defending yourself the more the threats continue. These scammers threaten the individuals by again stating they would be arrested if they do not pay the check and the “fee”.
Because these checks and the service fee is so small using totally under $50.00, the victim is frightened and now willing to just pay.
The investigation in these types of cases is ongoing but more than likely turn into a dead end. In these scam cases as with most of them the calls are originating from cell phones or “call centers” all over the US and tracking down the 21st century con artist is no easy task.
The police feel that a well-informed public is the best defense in combating scammers and remind everyone that an influx in this type of crime is often seen during the holiday season.