Montgomery County authorities warning of scam tricking people out of thousands of dollars
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. - Authorities are warning about a scam tricking people out of thousands of dollars. So how can you avoid falling victim?
"This is Deputy Daniel Rodriguez down here at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department," the voicemail said. "Calling you, sir, in regards to some confidential legal matters if you would please contact me on my direct line."
It's the voice of the modern-day thief.
He’s on a "fishing" call to a resident of Montgomery County and once he’s got the hook-in, his goal is to take anything he can through fear.
"Sometimes people don’t make the best decisions when in that mind frame maybe they thought I did miss jury service," Montgomery County District Attorney First Assistant Ed McCann said.
It’s part of an aggressive, wave of scam calls hitting Montco residents lately that investigators say have found "pay dirt."
One person was victimized to the tune of $20,000 and another to a far greater amount.
These stunning amounts are being stolen by fraudsters, posing as county sheriffs, claiming there’s an arrest warrant for their victims due to a missed court date, and eventually convincing them to load a payment card with money and give them the number and pin.
"Now this will require your immediate attention so please contact me as soon as possible," the message said.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office is warning residents of the scam knowing the chance of making any arrests is very low, while the efforts of the fraudsters are relentless and ever-changing.
Perhaps no one knows that better than Suhel Daud. He’s the Supervisory Special Agent for Cyber Crime in the FBI’s Philadelphia office.
He says the losses in dollars and cents are in the billions and being done by wily, cyber thieves and cold-callers well offshore.
"Here’s a bank account why don’t you transfer all your money into this bank account while we change your social security number in two or three days we’ll transfer it right back," he explained. "So, that’s all their money they transfer it to an account."
The U.S has had "some" success in convincing nations to prosecutor cybercriminals scamming from their shores.
But the best defense is knowledge.
"Understand if someone is calling asking you for money, it’s never legitimate," Daud said.
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