Shownotes Transcript
Don't miss this episode! A brave college student, (who we'll call Mary), shares her story to help others. Mary had just moved out of her family home when she received a phone call from a woman who claimed to be from Border Control and Customs. The officer told Mary that they had a package addressed to her. Inside the package, they claimed they'd found $70,000 in cash, illegal drugs, and fake IDs. Mary spoke to two other people who claimed to be law enforcement officials. Each time she spoke to someone, they gave their names and Badge Numbers--making them seem legitimate. Mary had the presence of mind to look up their names online and found that they were the real names of law enforcement officers in her area. The scammers told Mary they'd found six bank accounts under her name containing hundreds of thousands of dollars. They threatened her with prison and fines and said that if she didn't comply with their demands, they'd immediately issue a warrant for her arrest. The crooks said that all the bank accounts would be closed (including Mary's legitimate account) and demanded that Mary withdraw all her money and use it to purchase a financial bond. The scammers scared Mary and wore her down. She withdrew the money from her bank account and continued to follow their directions to purchase the financial bonds, which turned out to be Gift Cards. Mary was in the middle of giving the scammers the numbers on the Gift Cards when she realized that this was an elaborate scam. She called 911 and went to the San Luis Obispo Police Station. The police officer who met Mary told her that there was no warrant for her arrest and confirmed that it was a scam.
Follow Up: Mary said that a friend of hers recently received the same threatening phone call. Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson pointed out that people from all walks of life are targeted by scammers and as a follow up to Mary's story, shared information on how scammers purchase data that allows them to obtain personal information to contact their victims.