While most of us know that something too good to be true is most likely some type of scam, many people in the U.S. and right here in Brevard county are still getting scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars every day. Here are two of several common scams that the Police Department deals with on a regular basis:
- A caller claims they are a grandchild and in some type of trouble after being arrested abroad. They ask the target victim not to call their parents or they
will be in more trouble and then they beg for help with bail and fine money. Many grandparents have become victim to this scam because it pulls at the
heartstrings. The target then wires the money to Somalia or another foreign country to a fictitious name and account that is practically untraceable and might as well be on Mars. They play on the sweet side of the elderly and if they call 100 people a day, they only need to hit one with a grandchild for the story to work. Once the money is gone, it is almost always unrecoverable. - The newest scam the Police Department has been dealing with, as recent as two weeks ago, is the IRS tax scam. The caller will sound very official and say they are an IRS investigator and the target victim owes back taxes that must be paid immediately to avoid an arrest warrant being issues. The callers can be very aggressive. They demand money be wired and it ends up going
through multiple channels and again, is almost impossible to trace. - Precious metal scams are on the rise also, although we haven’t had any reports in Satellite Beach. As of April and May they are on the rise. A fake company representative offers gold or silver and may even send fancy reading materials/pamphlets. The target victim believes they are investing in the precious metal and the entire operation ends up being a scam.
NEVER WIRE MONEY unless you personally know the recipient.
NEVER send cash to someone who claims to have “accidentally” overpaid for a Craigslist item by money order.
ALWAYS stay informed of the most recent scams and don’t allow yourself to become a victim. If it doesn’t sound right, STOP and call the police for direction.
Web Resources:
http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/seniors
http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2560