Amador County – An Ione resident reportedly was fooled by a scammer and sent $4,800 to a person claiming to be a grandson needing money to get out of jail.
The Ione Police Department took the report of a telephone scam from a senior citizen, who said it occurred Wednesday, Feb. 23.
Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson said: “In this instance, a subject claiming to be the grandson of the victim called and stated he had been arrested” for “having alcohol on his breath” after involvement in a collision in Kansas City, Missouri.
“The victim was convinced to send over $4,800 via Western Union” for “bail and court costs,” Johnson said. “Later in the day, the victim discovered their grandson had actually been at work and was never arrested, nor in the state of Missouri.”
Scams are becoming more commonplace, especially in the current state of the economy, Johnson said. Scams may take place via the Internet and e-mail, through the postal service, or by telephone.
Some of the more common scams being perpetrated include someone posing as a “wealthy foreigner who needs help in moving millions of dollars from his homeland.” He “promises a large portion of the fortune as a reward for helping him.” Another scam includes announcements that “inform a person that they have won a large sum of money from a foreign lottery.”
Another scam has an “e-mail that appears to be from a bank that claim the ATM/Debit and PIN numbers must be updated” due to numerous “identity theft attempts” or to “update records.”
Johnson said if people find themselves as victims, it is important for them to report the incident to the local law enforcement agency. He said: “A lot of victims do not want to report these incidents,” because “they feel embarrassed that they fell for the scam.”
He said citizens should understand that “this type of criminal behavior is the perpetrator’s ‘job’ that they do every day. The criminals get very good at it and are very convincing.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
