Scammers score big using names of relatives, real cops
People who fall for these scams are often older
ASanta Fe woman got a call from someone earlier this month who said he was her grandson, Donald.
“Donald” then handed the phone to a William Keeley, who said he was Donald’s lawyer. Keeley said Donald was in an accident in Massachusetts and was now in jail, and that the woman needed to send $2,000 to Gabriel Cruz in Massachusetts to bond Donald out.
The woman sent the money, and she sent another $2,000 when Keeley said Donald was charged with manslaughter and another $5,000 when the pregnant woman claiming to be the victim of the crash called to tell her she lost her baby in the accident and was willing to drop the charges in exchange for money.
The woman sent a total of $11,000 before she realized that the man who first called her was not her grandson and the person she talked to after that was not a lawyer. They were scam artists.
These details from a Santa Fe Police report show some of the outrageous tactics scammers are willing use. The con artists often claim to be family members who are in jail and need money for bond and lawyers, a law enforcement officer asking for money to take care of a bench warrant or an IRS agent claiming back taxes are owed.
Juan Rios, spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies believe the crooks are using temporary phones to carry out the scams because the phone numbers are often disconnected when investigators call them.
People who fall for the scams are often older. The sheriff’s office sent the
Journal 31 reports in which people were duped by scam artists. Seventeen were over 70 and three were over 80.
“They prey on people’s fears, especially with the elderly population,” Rios said. “This is a population that comes from a different generation. They tend to want to accommodate the government or law enforcement.”
The scammers often identify a family member by name or sometimes use names of real law enforcement officers. Rios said it’s easy to go on the internet and find personal information about scam targets, including who they’re related to. Officer information is also often readily available online.
Scammers typically ask a victim to purchase a prepaid credit card or gift card and then read them the card information over the phone. The money is not traceable that way because it’s not tied to a bank account, and it makes it impossible to get your money back.
“Once you go to the store and buy the
card, you’ve been had — the money is gone,” Rios said. “It’s like putting your money into a black hole. By that time, it’s too late. We can’t help them get their money back.”
In another instance, a 77-year-old Santa Fe man got a call in November from someone who said he was a lawyer representing his grandson, Travis. The lawyer said Travis was in jail for a car accident and needed $4,000 for damages and legal counsel, according to a sheriff’s office report.
The lawyer instructed the man to go to Target and buy four gift cards worth $1,000 each. He read the scammer the cards’ information over the phone and never heard from the caller again. The man then called grandson Travis, who said he’d been home all day and was not in a car accident. The deputy taking the report called the supposed lawyer’s number, but it had been disconnected.
In July, a 78-yearold Santa Fe man lost $4,839 in a series of transactions to someone who claimed to be his 16-year-old grandson, stuck in jail in Mexico City and needing the money to bond out. In June, a 73-yearold woman lost $3,850 to a man claiming to be her son, who also was said to be in jail after a car wreck. The caller said he’d broken his nose and that’s why the woman couldn’t recognize his voice.
Rios said it’s easy to recognize a law enforcement scam because officers don’t seek payment over the phone, but it’s a little trickier when someone’s pretending to be a family member. His advice is to call other relatives to make sure you’re not getting swindled.
“Try to contact the grandson or try to contact the parent,” he said. “People’s visceral reaction is to do something quickly.”
‘You’re going to jail’
Some who fall for the cons are being threatened with jail time if they don’t fork over payments.
On Feb. 7, a 77-year-old Santa Fe man got a call from someone who said he was Lt. Vance Berry with the sheriff’s office. Berry told the man that he was subject to several arrest warrants and he could take care of them “off the record” by purchasing prepaid credit cards.
“Berry” gave the man his cellphone number and told him to stay in touch. The man bought $3,000 in prepaid cards and gave the information to Berry over the phone. He was told he would get his money back in a “federal check” some time in the coming weeks. A deputy later called Berry’s number and got a voice mail greeting that said, “Hi, this is the sheriff’s office. You have reached the desk of Lt. Vance Berry. If this is concerning a court matter, please leave a message.”
The wife of a Journal North staffer got a similar call in September from a “Sgt. Guess” who claimed she had unpaid traffic tickets, warrants had been issued, and she could be held in contempt of court and sent to jail. The scammer’s mode of operation included stopping the conversation as if he was taking other police-related calls and the sound of a police scanner in the background.
When she told the caller that her husband, who was home at the time, had checked with the sheriff’s office and confirmed there was no “Sgt. Guess,” the man hung up after saying, “You’re going to jail, bitch.”
According to reverse look-up sites on online, the call came from a phone on Marquis Street in Cuba, N.M.
Lt. Mike Post is a real Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy. In January, a woman got a call from a fake Lt. Post. The phony Post said the woman had an arrest warrant for missing jury duty and needed to pay $1,430 or else he would have deputies arrest her while she was at work. The woman went to Albertson’s to buy prepaid cards and gave the information over the phone. This scammer’s voice mail greeting also told callers that they reached the sheriff’s office.
“Law enforcement will never call you on the phone and ask you to send money,” Rios said. “Police and the courts will never call about a warrant.”
Rios said it’s hard to say if any of the cases are connected because the phone numbers are untraceable and he said he doesn’t believe any suspect has been caught. He urges anyone who’s been contacted by someone like this to call police.
“Again, don’t send money,” Rios said. “Tell your local law enforcement agencies and let them know. We can tell you you’re being scammed and we’ll look into it.”