Almost every single day, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office gets contacted by citizens who are victims of theft and fraud as they are robbed of their hard-earned money. Senior citizens are the primary target of these scams, with one Marion Countian reportedly losing half of their retirement, but the sheriff’s office reported victims as young as 20 years old.
Chief Deputy Jamie Singley said these scammers, who are primarily operating overseas, use a number of tactics to either get unsuspecting victims to send money willingly or gain access to victims’ accounts to siphon funds.
The ploys used are varied and nuanced, with some scammers even pretending to be local law enforcement.
- Scammers promise they will send the victim money if the victim sends money first as an investment.
- Victims are tricked into purchasing and sending gift cards as a form of payment.
- Scammers create fake social media accounts of people victims know to gain access to sensitive information. Recently, scammers have pretended to be country music artist Lainey Wilson with a fake retirement investment “opportunity” and offer a purchase of Bitcoin.
- Scammers send fraudulent letters to a victim’s home address pretending to be a collection agency to receive payments from victims.
- Scammers pretend to be the sheriff’s office and attempt to convince victims they have outstanding warrants that need to be paid under threat of arrest. Singley said it is department policy to never discuss warrants over the phone, so the sheriff’s office will never contact individuals over the phone to collect money for a warrant. He added even if people who do have a warrant call the sheriff’s office to settle it, the department will not release that information over the phone.
- Scammers target parents of deployed military members and make up a story that their child is in trouble and in need of money.
Most of the scams are conducted over the phone, but Singley said some scammers do use social media as part of their playbook. He encourages people not to click on any links they are unsure of because scammers can have a Trojan horse embedded in the link that allows the scammer to access very sensitive information.
There have also been several cases of scammers pretending to be somebody the victim knows on social media and will try to “borrow” money. If you receive a friend or follow request from someone you know and already have them on social media, Singley advises you reach out to that person directly to verify it’s them because scammers will create duplicate accounts as a tactic to initiate fraud.
“Think about all of the information that’s on your phone (or computer). If they end up hacking it or back-dooring it, all of that information on your phone (can be stolen),” he explained. “They can get all your banking information, your Apple Pay, your CashApp and all that. We’ve also had a couple cases where they will get your pictures somehow and they use it as blackmail.”
Singley also advises to be wary of scammers knowing personal information, which can cause unsuspecting victims to trust that the scammer is legitimate.
“We have so many people call freaking out because (the scammer) will say, ‘We know where you live — you live at 123 ABC St. — we’re going to come there if you don’t send us the money.’ There’s so many different scams,” he explained. “The problem is, with technology the way it is in today’s society, it’s not hard to find out somebody’s address. The biggest thing I try to tell everybody, and this is the No. 1 rule, quit talking to people. If they call and you don’t know them, don’t give them any personal information. I’m talking about any kind because people will think, ‘Well, I’m just not going to give them my social (security number).’ But they give their name and their address, and that’s personal information they can start with.
“If you’re not sure it’s legit, don’t give them any information. You can call us. If it’s a bank or a business that you think you are dealing with, go to their websites and their apps that you know are verified and contact them directly. Don’t fall for it if they say this is (Business Name), and you have a credit card with (that business). Hang up, pull up the app or website and call that number to speak with them.”
One of the stranger scams the sheriff’s office has witnessed involved a scammer hacking into a cell phone and not allowing the victim to hang up. The scammer called continuously, and no matter what the “end call” button would not work.
“It would not allow (the victim) to hang their phone. We saw it right here (in the office),” Singley said. “If something like that happens, turn off your phone and contact your carrier because that means something has happened.”
It can be very difficult and sometimes impossible for victims to recoup their losses from these scams. Singley said the attorney general’s office finds most of these scams originate overseas, which keeps local law enforcement from being able to prosecute because it’s outside of their jurisdiction. While the attorney general’s office attempts to recover the money, it is nearly impossible to get back.
Singley said the only time he has witnessed victims getting their money back is if the fraud is caught in time to be blocked by the victim’s bank. If the victim is convinced to send money via Western Union, money transfer apps or gift cards, according to Singley, there is no way to get it back.
“Unfortunately, we see a lot of that in our senior citizen population. We see it where they have worked a long time to get what they have, and overnight it can disappear very quickly,” he said.
Columbia Police Chief Adrien Fortenberry said elderly people are usually the ones most at risk, but scammers can get to anyone if they’re not careful.
If you or a loved one has any suspicion of a scam or potential fraud, contact law enforcement or the actual business provider immediately.
