Don't miss this episode!  A brave college student, (who we'll call Mary), shares her story to help others.  Mary had just moved out of her family home when she received a phone call from a woman who claimed to be from Border Control and Customs.  The officer told Mary that they had a package addressed to her.  Inside the package, they claimed they'd found $70,000 in cash, illegal drugs, and fake IDs.  Mary spoke to two other people who claimed to be law enforcement officials.  Each time she spoke to someone, they gave their names and Badge Numbers--making them seem legitimate.  Mary had the presence of mind to look up their names online and found that they were the real names of law enforcement officers in her area.  The scammers told Mary they'd found six bank accounts under her name containing hundreds of thousands of dollars.  They threatened her with prison and fines and said that if she didn't comply with their demands, they'd immediately issue a warrant for her arrest.  The crooks said that all the bank accounts would be closed (including Mary's legitimate account) and demanded that Mary withdraw all her money and use it to purchase a financial bond.  The scammers scared Mary and wore her down. 
She withdrew the money from her bank account and continued to follow their directions to purchase the financial bonds, which turned out to be Gift Cards.  Mary was in the middle of giving the scammers the numbers on the Gift Cards when she realized that this was an elaborate scam.  She called 911 and went to the San Luis Obispo Police Station.  The police officer who met Mary told her that there was no warrant for her arrest and confirmed that it was a scam.  

Follow Up:  Mary said that a friend of hers recently received the same threatening phone call.  Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson pointed out that people from all walks of life are targeted by scammers and as a follow up to Mary's story, shared information on how scammers purchase data that allows them to obtain personal information to contact their victims.

Scammer Targets College Student & Threaten to Arrest her

A gentleman almost falls for a sophisticated Jury Duty Scam.  Randy, a gentleman from Santa Maria, received a threatening call from authorities who told him that he had missed Federal Jury Duty.  At the time, Randy was returning from a grocery shopping trip. The authorities told him that he had to immediately drive from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara to pay $4,500 and that if he didn't, they would ping his location, arrest him and put him in jail.  Randy asked if he could stop by his home to put away his perishable groceries but the authorities told him that they would consider that fleeing and that he must drive straight to the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department!  They instructed him to stay on the line with them while he made the hour long drive to Santa Barbara.  He was told not to disconnect or mute the call for the entire drive.  Randy made it to Santa Barbara, went to his bank, and was able to withdraw the $4,500 that they demanded--even though he told them that it would cause him great hardship.  Randy was ready to take the money to the Santa Barbara Sherrif's Department but at that point the 'authorities' told him to take the money to a kiosk and to send the money that way, and then to take the receipt to the Sheriff's Station.  Thankfully at that point, Randy realized that he was dealing with scammers.  He took the money back to the bank and re-deposited it--and was kind enough to share his story to save others from falling for this scam.

The Jury Duty Scam Strikes Again--& it's More Sophisticated than Ever!

Join the Scam Squad movement. Learn how to avoid being scammed, and share what you learn with others. Together, we can stop scammers in their tracks!

Fraudulent Post For Things People Don't Have - 022418

Beware of anything to do with receiving packages from the Ukraine on behalf of a friend or relative or anyone.  Since US involvement in overthrowing the democratically elected government in Ukraine and replacing it with a facist neo-nazi regime, you cannot trust anyone who has anything to do with Ukraine.  Be very suspicious of anything Ukrainian or anything from Ukraine. Don't get involved, it is very dangerous.

UKRAINIAN PACKAGE ROMANCE SCAM

Crooks are always looking to make friends with goodhearted, innocent people so that they can trick them into being a money mule who will unknowingly launder thousands of dollars of illegally obtained money for them.  Learn how to avoid being tricked into being used by crooks who need to launder their illegal money.

THE MONEY MULE

We know that scams tend to recirculate. Some scams are seasonal, and even predictable, leaving us to wonder if scammers still think they can get away with old tricks. One scam we cover today is an example of a reemerging classic style scam, involving a phony letter from the Bank of Singapore, Hong Kong. We also provide our listeners with up to date Covid-19 scams. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2442

The Jury Duty Scam Strikes Again--& it's More Sophisticated than Ever!

Scam Squad

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