Reports of scammers pretending to be relatives in need have appeared again in the listening area. At approximately 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, a Halbur woman received a call from an individual claiming to be a lawyer telling her one of her grandsons had been in an accident and had severely injured another person. The scammer told her she would be contacted by her relative with more information. A short time later, a man called her home number impersonating her grandson and said he needed $9,000. She became suspicious after he requested she send at least part of the money immediately by purchasing gift cards. After hanging up, she made contact with her real grandson, who confirmed he had not been in an accident and the claim was false. The woman’s suspicion prevented her from possibly losing thousands of dollars, but many others have fallen victim to this trap. Often, scammers will claim a close friend or relative is in jail and is requesting bail money, they need money to avoid a lawsuit from an accident or another similar story. The best course of action in the case of a suspicious call is to hang up the phone immediately and contact the relative or friend directly. No legitimate law enforcement agency, attorney or company will ever request payment be made through gift cards over the phone and marks a sure sign of a scam. Be sure to report any scam attempts to your local law enforcement office.
