A WOMAN who was tricked into handing over $2,000 travelled 200 miles to reach an ATM in fear of being arrested.
Barbara Earl, 59, said she received a call from a man posing as a deputy from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma.
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The caller claimed she had been subpoenaed for jury duty, and when she didn’t show up, a warrant was issued for contempt of court.
Barbara told 2News: “I immediately told him I didn’t have a court date, but he insisted and said I needed to pay $2,000 in Bitcoin or face being arrested and held for 72 hours.
“I was so scared. He said they would take me away from my mother, and that was the turning point.”
Barbara, who cares for her 101-year-old blind mother, said she was so worried about her mother’s well-being that she followed the scammer’s instructions.
She ended up driving 200 miles across several counties to a Guthrie grocery store with a Bitcoin machine.
“He told me Bitcoin was the safest payment method because of Covid,” she recalled.
“Looking back, it was the biggest red flag, but I was just desperate.”
The man stayed on the line the entire time, guiding her through the transaction and even telling her to take photos of the deposits as proof.
Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Casey Roebuck said scams like this are an ongoing problem.
She warned: “These scams are getting more common, and we’re doing everything we can to warn people.”
The Sheriff’s Office regularly issues warnings about fraudsters pretending to be deputies and demanding payments in Bitcoin or gift cards to avoid arrest.
Roebuck added that while they’ve been pushing out alerts on social media and through their website, the scams keep coming.
Unfortunately, once the money is sent via Bitcoin, it’s nearly impossible to track or recover.
Experts warn victims to report such scams to both local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which monitors fraud schemes.
Barbara, who is still reeling from the experience, received another call just days later from a man using the same name and claiming to be a Tulsa County Deputy.
But this time, she didn’t fall for it.
She said: “I knew exactly what was going on. I didn’t give him a penny, and I reported it straight away.”
She hopes by sharing her story, others will be warned about this dangerous scam before it’s too late.
Barbara added: “I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did.
“I hope by sharing my experience, someone will think twice before they hand over their money.”
Expert Advice: How to protect yourself from fraud
Craig Costigan, the CEO of fraud experts NICE Actimize gave the following tips to readers of The U.S. Sun on how to stay safe from fraudsters.
- As the saying goes, trust but verify. Always question your text and email communications. It may not be from who you think it is. Look for giveaways that it is a scam email. If your bank contacts you about a fraud via a text or email, call the number on the back of your credit or debit card to contact the fraud department directly – much safer than giving data to an impersonator.
- Protect your personal identifying information such as social security cards, your blank checks and other IDs.
- Always be vigilant. Even the safest and most careful among us have encountered fraudsters – we survived
because we reported the activity immediately to our providers, changed our passwords and checked our credit reports for unusual activity. - If you are not applying for credit, you might also consider placing a freeze on your credit reports, such as Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, so fraudsters can’t open accounts in your name. You can easily unfreeze your credit when you want to open a new account.
SNEAKY STEAL
The exact methods remain unclear but, most frequently, scammers will call, text, or email and impersonate employees from companies to gain access to their information.
If the couple gave the account info to a fake AT&T staffer who reached out about an update or issue with the account, they would’ve had access.
These fake calls or messages can sometimes be hard to spot, as scammers will go to great lengths to make them seem credible.
Another possibility could’ve been a data breach, where a hacker was able to access a database of AT&T users information and sold it on the dark web.
To protect yourself, it’s always best to create unique passwords and update them on a consistent basis.
If there’s an option to have multi-factor authentication (MFA) with your account, that’s also a great security addition.
It will send a one-time code to enter before being able to login for more verification that it’s really you.
If you discover fraudulent activity, it’s always best to file an initial police report as well.