Attention Bail Bond Agents: There is a new prison phone scam to be aware of. Read the below story published earlier today by Montrose Patch.
Residents have called the sheriff’s department, asking to speak with a specific deputy, detective or sergeant who called them, but the real deputy who answers explains that the named deputy does not exist or isn’t on duty, sheriff’s officials said.
Earlier this year the same notice was publicly shared by the LASD and the amount of victims decreased, according to Capt. Mike Parker of Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau.
“There has again been a sudden increase in reports of this scam,” Parker said.
The calls start with a person claiming to be a deputy, officials said. The impersonator tells the victim that one of their family members is incarcerated or involved in an accident. Then the pretend deputy says that the victim is the emergency contact for the family member.
The imposter tells the victim to call a number that begins with *72, for example, *72-323-555-1212, to get the information they will need. The victim hangs up, dials the number given and they are told they have the wrong number.
Out of concern for a family member, the victim calls information (4-1-1) and asks for a sheriff’s department number and connects with a real deputy.
Since the victim used prefix *72 to start the last phone call, they just forwarded all their incoming calls to the scammer’s phone number, which includes collect calls from inmates who want to avoid paying for collect calls, sheriff’s officials said…
To read the rest of the story, click on the following link, ExpertBail Consumer Tip: Prison Phone Scam.