From the dawn of time, there have been crooks looking to relieve people of their money. Over the years, different scams have drained the wallets of unsuspecting victims. As technology changes, so do the methods from pickpockets to website hacking. The Malibu Times has recently been alerted to an old telephone scam that has apparently reappeared. One woman called The Malibu Times this week and, on the condition of anonymity, admitted to being taken for a whopping $12,000.
Sounding a bit embarrassed and ashamed of being conned out of so much money, the elderly woman wanted to share her experience and alert others to the phone scam. The woman—who does not live alone and who has had a Malibu address for years with the same phone number—described getting a frantic phone call from a young man claiming to be her grandson. The victim has a few grandchildren and started to worry falling for his pleas for help. The caller claimed he was out of state and had gotten into some sort of trouble with a friend and needed immediate assistance. The senior citizen victim says she became worried about all of her grandchildren and naively asked the caller, “Is this Matthew?” At that point, with a grandson’s name supplied by the victim, the crook was able to convince her to wire $12,000 dollars to an untraceable account. The elderly woman said she asked repeatedly if she could call her son, the boy’s father, and the caller pleaded with her not to involve other family members or the police. After she realized she’d been taken, the victim says she did call the police, but at that point the damage had been done and the local woman is out a hefty amount of cash from her bank account that in all likelihood will never be retrieved.
The Malibu Times called the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department to see if there have been other recent reports of this old telephone scheme resurfacing and was told by Sgt. Jim Braden that he was unaware of a rash of reports of preying on the elderly by phone. However, it has happened many times before. Many senior citizens who have fallen victim to telephone scams are too embarrassed to report the crimes. Sgt. Braden did have advise though, about anyone calling your home and demanding or asking for money: “Get verification and confirm by phonebook or computer that it’s a real phone number for a company and not the scammer’s number.” Many telephone scams originate overseas. Still, some are being conducted from U.S. phone numbers and Braden said he was not sure just how the thieves are able to target older victims.
Braden recounted a few telephone scams he’s heard about including having companies such as Southern California Edison or even the Internal Revenue Service calling residents and asking for payments over the phone. Braden relayed one story of a Malibu resident complaining she was called late on a Friday evening by someone claiming to work for the IRS demanding a missed payment. He says these agencies never call people at home for money and for some reason—if you still are not convinced you’re dealing with a crook—he suggested to demand a call back number and ask to speak with a supervisor. If the callers ask you not to call the police, Braden called that “a tell tale sign” a thief is on the other end of the line.
In a recent posting on a neighborhood social media network in Malibu, a Point Dume woman said she got a call this week from a “supposed Sheriff” who claimed she didn’t report for jury duty for Federal Court. The caller went on to claim that a letter was sent informing her that there were two warrants for her arrest, but that she could go to CVS and purchase two Money Pack reload cards totaling $700 for her bail bond. The caller asked the woman to meet him at the local Sheriff’s station in Agoura Hills with the cash cards and he would request a dismissal of the warrants. She wrote she realized it was a trick. She claims the number the scammer dialed from was a local 310 area code.
The National Council on Aging advises to never give out credit card, bankcard, Social Security numbers, Medicare or other personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call. Other schemes to be aware of include billing for services never delivered and selling unneeded devices or services.