Scammer Alert: Beware of The Man
I have been wanting to take a few minutes to share an experience that I had about a week ago in the hopes that it will help raise awareness and possibly save someone from a world of misery. I have been on the road so it has been difficult to make time, but no more excuses!
I was about halfway home from my five hour return commute from work when I got a call from Butler, TN. The phone number that popped up on caller ID was (423)281-5271. I generally don’t answer numbers that I don’t know, but I was bored and lonely, so I figured “What the Hell” and picked up.
The person on the other line claimed to be with the police department. The basic story was that he was a police officer and that warrants had been issued for my arrest for failure to appear for jury duty in Sullivan County. He knew my address and said that a notice was delivered via certified mail to my house and that someone had signed for it. Fortunately, he could help me if I would let him help me. All that I had to do is get $3250 cash and bring it to a bonding machine, which he would help me find. Once I paid the fee, I’d be issued a piece of paper, basically a receipt that I could use to get reimbursed once the matter was cleared up by a forensic handwriting specialist. Here’s the thing. The whole story reeked of pungent, festering bullshit, but he sounded so genuine and believable. He spoke respectfully, calmly and confidently. He wasn’t a male with a thick Indian accent claiming to be Peggy. He was a public servant, dammit! He knew my address.
A cat and mouse game ensued. He transferred me to “his lieutenant” to vouch for him. The number that popped up was the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. When I got back on the line with him, I told him that was all well and good, but that phone numbers can be spoofed. I told him that I trusted him, but that the whole thing just was so far out of my normal realm of existence that it was difficult to believe. He assured me that phone numbers could not, in fact, be spoofed and that he was only trying to help me.
I told him that there was no way that I could get that kind of cash while I was out of town because my bank was a local bank and they have daily withdrawal limits. He had a brilliant solution. He could connect me to the bank on a “federally protected secure line” where no one can listen in and make arrangements to get the money so that i wouldn’t be arrested when I got home. So he connected me to the bank on that protected line and I tested the waters. The lady answered and I said that someone who I think could be a scammer had connected me and wanted me to withdraw cash to pay so that I won’t get arrested. The call cut off immediately and he was back on the line telling me that I couldn’t say that kind of thing. I asked him how he would know what I was saying if I was on a secure line, and he back tracked and said that he would try to reconnect me.
When I got back on the phone with the bank, I got a different “representative”. I asked to speak to Kaitlyn, who I was supposedly on the line with the first time, but she said that she wasn’t sure who to connect me to because there were five Kaitlyns that worked there. I started to tell her the same story that I told “Kaitlyn”, and again, the call cut off and I was back with my police officer buddy admonishing me. I assured him that I trusted him, but that it was so out of my wheelhouse that it was hard for me to comprehend all of the things that he was telling me. “Of course I trust you! You’re a police officer, for God’s sake!”
Early in the conversation, I texted my wife and told her what was going on. The magic of speaker phone. She called the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office to investigate, and they confirmed what we already knew. It was all damn, dirty lies. Once I had that information in my back pocket, I was determined to waste as much of his time as possible. I was able to keep him on the phone for about an hour. Finally, I lost interest, so I cut him off and hung up.
The whole thing was somewhat unnerving. A few things stood out about the encounter. Other than a few slip ups, he was very smooth. He acted like he was just doing his job and was trying to help me, but didn’t really care if I believed him or not. He accidentally called me by the wrong name when he first called, but quickly corrected it. He also said two different dates on which the jury duty notice was supposedly signed for. When asked (which he was multiple times), he stated that policy prevented him from sending any proof of what he was saying. Also, once he thought he had me in his web, he was committed to keeping me on the phone. I would come up with something that I needed to do and ask for his number so I could call him back and he would come up with every reason he could not to lose the connection.
I called the police department after it was all finished and asked if I should file a report. They said that there was really no point, especially since I didn’t lose any money. The scammers have been at this game for a while and are constantly changing tactics to stay one step ahead of the law.
Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I hope it helps someone.
Peace and love!
“Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.”
- Sophocles
“Who is going to believe a con artist? Everyone, if she’s good.”
- Andy Griffith
