Deputies are searching for a man who conned an elderly woman in the Coalville area out of $800.
“She received a phone call from a male identifying him as her nephew. He was able to fraudulently have her send $800 by way of wire transfer to him as he told her that he was in jail and needed assistance,” said Ron Bridge, a Summit County Sheriff’s Office detective. “This is somebody simply taking advantage of an elderly person, which is a terrible, terrible situation.”
The victim’s grandson said the suspect claimed he was arrested in Canada, Bridge said about the report the department received Aug. 12.
“We start with subpoenaing phone records, wire transfer records, things like that,” he said. “It’s a long drawn out investigation but we will investigate it.”
The woman wired the money before realizing the caller was a fraud.
“[The suspect] told her he had gotten in a car accident and was arrested for DUI,” Bridge said. “He told her he had too much cough syrup to drink and he told the lady that he needed $800 to get out of jail.”
The woman doesn’t think she knows the suspect.
“They make 20 phone calls. If one works, that’s $800, and it took 20 minutes to make 20 phone calls,” Bridge said.
Meanwhile, Kevin Olsen, director of the state Division of Consumer Protection, said these scams are difficult to investigate.
“Once it’s been wire transferred out of the state, there is very, very little chance she will get that back,” Olsen said.
“You can find out where the money went, but from there you can’t track it,” he said. “So you’ve got good money that just vanishes.”
A request from someone to wire money is a red flag, Olsen explained.
“When you wire transfer it to that Western Union, or wherever it’s being sent, they’ll go in and pick it up, but you can’t trace where it’s gone,” he said.
Scam artists prey on emotion.
“Seniors need to recognize that they are targets simply because they are seniors The person may say, don’t tell my mom and dad, or something like that,” Olsen said. “It’s tragic that people would be taken advantage of, but it happens all the time. The goodness of people’s hearts and the trusting nature of people gets taken advantage of.”
Confirm information before sending money, he said.
“When you’re caught in the middle of that high-pressured sale, you find yourself buying it. A con artist knows how to use those kinds of tactics,” Olsen said. “Check out where they’re located. Don’t just assume because you’re caller ID says he’s calling from the jail that he’s calling from the jail.”
Crooks troll for victims on social-networking Web sites like Facebook.
“Those are of particular concern. We now see scams making use of the Internet and information that is provided by family and friends,” Olsen said. “People need to be aware that when you put something on those Web sites, you’re not really able to take it down, and I’m not really sure how secure they are. That is the world we live in and it’s not going to change.”