Phone Scam To Look Out For that Fooled My Friend For 30 Minutes

We all get bombarded daily with email and phone scams. It would help if we were prepared for scam attempts because you never know when they’re going to strike when you’re not ready.

I wanted to share an elaborate phone scam that a friend of mine was recently targeted with and shared with me. What makes it even more interesting is that she works in the cyber-security field, and she still fell for it.

The phone scammer told her that he was from the Office of Homeland Security and fed her an elaborate tale about fake driver’s licenses in her name, and suspicious packages with drugs that were confiscated in Florida addressed to her home address. 

This scammer had my friend write down his name, badge number, case number, and return phone number. He even mentioned the local Sheriff’s office by name and said they would be following up in a few days. Then he questioned her about every address she ever lived, and every bank she had ever been associated with.

Fortunately, she never gave out any personal identifying information, but she did confirm his information and said that she “probably added too much color about my life and it’s going to bother me for a long time.”

Related: House Painting Scam Making Its Rounds

This phone scam strung her along for almost half an hour. She was a bit suspicious from the start because as they went along, it just didn’t seem to be the way Homeland Security would handle an investigational interview. The scammer's accent might have been a clue but thought that a lot of legitimate businesses contract outside the country or have staff with accents.

The final straw for her was when he insisted she make a decision over the phone as to whether she planned to defend herself in court against charges of drug smuggling, even though he had not provided any evidence she was connected in any way. He then threatened her with up to 9 years in prison for each criminal infraction he cited by code number and reminded her the call was being recorded, to sound extra legitimate.

She still doesn’t know what the actual scam was because they didn’t get that far.  She tried to find a chatbot or phone number on the FBI’s website while he was still on the line and she ended up calling 911.  That was all a waste of time. There was nothing they could do or advise her to do, other than hang up and tell her that they’d heard about this specific scam before. In the meantime, the scammer hung up.

She is really upset because the scammer has her phone number, knows where she lives, and has lived over the past thirty years. He also knows every bank she’s had an account with for the last three decades.

The scammer confirmed all that information and knows that she’s new here and doesn’t know many people in the area. All she can do is watch my bank and credit card statements closely.

Making things worse, in the days following the incident she started receiving an increased amount of email and phone scam attempts.

It’s scary so we all need to always be cautious.

Scams are a scary thing, so you should know these new scams that are trending. It's easy to think that you could never fall for a scam, but the truth is that scammers are getting better and better and what they're doing, so it's getting more difficult to stay safe.

Before we get into the new scams that are trending, it's worth reminding ourselves of some age-old scams. Some scam artists just keep doing the same thing, and they keep getting successful results. The IRS has some good information out about tax-related scams and how to avoid them. On the agency's official website, they warn that seniors are often targeted in scams. This was true years ago and is still true. On their site, they warn taxpayers not to fall for scams targeting older adults. "Scammers pretending to be government officials, aim to steal sensitive personal information and money," they state. "By posing as representatives from agencies such as the IRS, or other government agencies, these fraudsters use fear and deceit to exploit their victims."

Another big scam that's been around forever is scammers claiming their services are needed to settle with the IRS and "that their debts can be settled for 'pennies-on-the-dollar' or that there is a limited window of time to resolve tax debts through the Offer in Compromise (OIC) program." The IRS says "these promoters are often referred to as 'OIC Mills.'" In a release, the IRS adds that an Offer in Compromise "mill" will "usually make outlandish claims, frequently in radio and TV ads, about how they can settle a person's tax debt for cheap. In reality, the promoter fees are often excessive, and taxpayers pay the OIC mill to get the same deal they could have received on their own by working directly with the IRS. This takes unnecessary money out of the taxpayer's wallet."

"Too often, we see some unscrupulous promoters mislead taxpayers into thinking they can magically get rid of a tax debt," IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement. "This is a legitimate IRS program, but there are specific requirements for people to qualify. People desperate for help can make a costly mistake if they clearly don't qualify for the program. Before using an aggressive promoter, we encourage people to review readily available IRS resources to help resolve a tax debt on their own without facing hefty fees."

Now, let's move onto the new scams to avoid.

The AARP warns of a new scam called the "check cooking scam." The AARP states, "In check cooking, thieves take a digital picture of a stolen check and then use commercially available software to alter it." It can look super real, but it's fake. So, how do you stay safe? "Consider using a safer payment method, such as a credit card," they suggest.

The AARP states also warns of a new sweepstakes scam where "instead of trying to get you to pay taxes or other fees in advance to collect the nonexistent prize, the scammers will ask for personal information so that they can validate you and set up the payout." Just say no.

These days, AI scams are big. Experian.com says today, scammers use technology to "write more convincing and natural-sounding phishing emails and text messages." They can also "Impersonate the victim's friend or relative and ask for money as part of a grandparent scam." It's scary stuff. Beware of anything that sounds too crazy, as these can often seem far-fetched, but AI makes them look real.

Experian.com says that student loan forgiveness scams are on the rise. They note that, "scammers may contact you via phone or create phony application sites aimed at stealing your Social Security number or your bank account information." Don't give out your information. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

This one is really wild. With the games on the way, scammers can use the games to scam you. The AARP states, "A scammer hacks someone's email account, and shortly after, all of that person's contacts will receive the same message — something to the effect of, 'Hey guys, I'm over in Paris and my wallet got stolen! Can anyone please help me out by sending gift cards or a Venmo deposit?"

Whether the scam is new or old, the best way to avoid it is to stop and think about what's happening. These scam artists are super good at what they do, but if you just stop for a moment and really think out any actions, you can avoid making a rash decision that could cost you.