Need a little help from the Pub - Need info on fraud and where to report it.

[Gator515151]

I am almost ashamed to admit it but my wife was a victim of a huge scam yesterday. This is something me and her will be dealing with for a long time because she waited until this morning to tell me, but for now I just want to do some damage control and try to stop these people from pulling off the scam on any other victims.

I'll get into details later if needed but for now I will just tell the basic scam. A few years ago Mrs51 purchased something online that she could have got into trouble with US Customs for importing. Yesterday she got a phone call from people claiming to be with customs from the Dominican Republic, they told her they had a warrant for her arrest and she needed to pay the fine right away or she would be taken to the Dominican immediatly. I can't believe she was foolish enough to fall for it but she said they had so much personal information on her she got scared. They told her if she hung up or tried to run they would come after her right away. She wired them $2000. They ended up hitting her for $4000 but the details are not important. The important thing is getting this reported to the right agency.

I realize recovering anything is not going to happen at this point, I just want to get the right agencies involved. Who would this type of fraud be reported to? I can't believe she fell for this but I guess I should have seen it coming, she is the type of person that would fall for all sorts of scams and mail fraud if I wasn't there to spot them. This time they used fear to pressure her into acting.

[g8orbill]

you need to call the police

[Gator515151]

Thanks Bill.

I just talked to the Tampa office of the FBI. Got a gentleman doing some checking for me. We will see where to go from here when he calls back.

[mfpardnor2]

I believe if it was perpetrated over the phone it is the FBI's jurisdiction.

[Gator515151]

The FBI finally called back. He gave me contact numbers for the Federal Trade Comission identity theft dept and phone fraud dept. Also for the FBI internet fraud division and the FCC phone fraud division.

He said the phone # that contacted my wife claimed they were the US Food and Drug Comission but that was obviously a fake number so he suggested I also call the USFDC.

Then he said off the record I need to have a long heart to heart talk with my wife about falling for this kind of scam which I assured him has already happened. I'll post some detals later on how they pulled it off later. They had quite an elaborate scam worked out but I am still shocked even her as gullible as she is fell for it.

For now I have some work to do contacting these agencies.

[Gator515151]

Here is a how they pulled off the scam. I can’t believe she fell for it but she said it all seemed so real and she was scared. First a little background.

A few years back she had been seeing a doctor for back pain and got addicted to pain medications. When she couldn’t get more from the doctor she started ordering them online. This went on for a couple of months until I discovered what was going on and put a stop to it.

So yesterday she gets a call on her cell phone from a guy claiming to be from the USFDA. He told her there was a shipment a few years back that was addressed to her that was caught in Customs and the USFDA and the Customs Dept had been working on the case with the States Attorney’s office. She said she could hear radio conversation in the background with what sounded like federal agents and they were describing the 3 vehicles sitting in our driveway. She said the man on the phone told her if she hung up the phone or tried to run she would be arrested and taken to the Dominican Republic for prosecution. She was told if she did not pay the fine immediately she would be arrested.

This is so bizarre to me but she said she was told she should go to Western Union and send $2000 to an address in the Dominican. If she tried to run or broke telephone contact she would be immediately arrested. She said she was too frightened to think. She drove to the Western Union office at Walmart to make the transfer. She said the guy on the phone at one time told her to slow down because the agents behind her said she was speeding. She said she looked at the dash and was 5 mph over the speed limit. I’m sure this was a trick they use to make it seem more realistic, I’m sure anybody in that situation who believes they are being followed would be speeding. After she got to Walmart and sent the money order the guy on the phone said she was free to go home but should remain on the line for confirmation.

He came back and told her the money she sent was in Dominican dollars worth just 38 cents on the dollar and it needed to be in US dollars he said they were returning the first transfer and she needed to re send it. At this point she pulled into Publix and sent another $2000 from Western Union in Publix.

I know the whole thing sounds too ridiculous for anybody to fall for but she says she was scared and wasn’t thinking. She has always been gullible and I can almost understand the fear thing but I am more angry about her not telling me yesterday than her giving away $4 grand out of stupidity. But that is something I have to work out with her.

[Gator515151]

I'm thinking of pursuing this from a different angle. I know the identity theft and phone fraud complaints will just be filed away with dozens of other cases. I'm wondering about kidnapping? When she was forced against her will to stay on the cell phone and go to Western Union I would think that falls in the definition of kidnapping. I would think that would merrit further investigation than phone fraud.

[brainstorm]

My own mother has fallen for two scams - she is in her 70s - and we have had to disconnect her from the Internet.

Scam 1 - my mother answered a "work from home" email thinking she could make some extra money. She didn't tell anyone since she wanted to just show us her first paycheck to impress us. Anyway, the job involved becoming a secret shopper. The company would pay her to shop at various places and provide feedback on customer services, etc. To make these purchases and pay her for her time, the company sent her a cashier's check for $5,000. They told her to cash it, subtract out the amount of her "wage" and purchases and then send the balance back to them. By getting a cashier's check.

As you can imagine, the cashier's check they sent here turned out to be a fake. It usually takes the banking system a little while to uncover it but they will uncover it, make no mistake. By then, my diligent mother had followed instructions and sent real money back to the crooks. She ended up having to reimburse the bank the original amount of the cashier's check. Net loss - $5,000. Chances of the crook getting caught and money returned? Zero.

Red flags were everywhere. Yet, my mother still struggles to understand why the entire thing was a scam.


Scam 2 - callers claiming to be the police in Mexico City claim to have her grandson (my son who was 18 at the time) in custody. He lived with me in NJ while my mother lives in Florida.

The story from the caller - her grandson was in an accident while under the influence and serious damage and injury occurred to the other driver. Her grandson was likely to go to prison. BUT, it so happens that if he could pay a $3,000 fine immediately (via Western Union) they could just release him. They even put her grandson on the phone to speak with her - how she thought it was actually him I'll never know. He claimed he was in Mexico City for the wedding of a friend (totally implausible, except to my mother).

Needless to say, she maxed out her credit card wiring money to a crook in Mexico City.

And no, she didn't discuss with me DESPITE THE FACT that I was in Florida visiting with her since my imposter son "asked her not to, he didn't want to get in trouble with me".

[gator7_5]

Wow. At this whole thread. I had no idea this many scams were out there.

Sorry about everyones losses. I hate an f'n thief.

[vaxcardinal]

i missed the kidnapping part...she drove by herself to walmart because someone on the phone told her to, that doesnt sound like kidnapping.

[Gator515151]

i missed the kidnapping part...she drove by herself to walmart because someone on the phone told her to, that doesnt sound like kidnapping.

It is definatly extortion, I'm thinking forcing someone to go somewhere or do something against their will by any means would be kidnapping too. I don't know the legal definition.

I did find information on this scam online.
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm320637.htm

[phatGator]

51, so sorry to hear about this. Hopefully it doesn't put you in dire straits. Maybe you can reassure Mrs51 that she is by no means the first and won't be the last to fall for something like this. And hopefully you will be able to forgive her. She's more valuable than the money.

The people that perpetrate this kind of scam -- hang 'em from the highest tree!