As soon as I answered my cell phone Thursday I knew what it was and decided to have some fun when the caller told me I had just won a government grant worth $9,000.
I typically don’t answer strange calls but was expecting a return from Dunham’s Sports and when I realized it was a D.C. area code — 202-210-0054 — I figured it might be my source from the Humane Society of the United States with some juicy dogfighting tip.
To my dismay it was a woman speaking very bad English on a bad connection informing me of the greatest news in the world — I was about to be able to get on a $9,000 gravy train and do with that money what I saw fit.
(Please see the PDF attachment at the end of this story for a press release on a successfully prosecuted federal scam case)
She told the many things I could do with this money and I immediately told her I wanted to use it to buy a car although I already have a perfectly working vehicle.
She apparently sensed my excitement and thought she had reeled in the biggest sucker this side of Easy Street when she began rattling off the many things this nine grand would buy.
Not to disappoint her I said, “Would you like my debit or credit card number or would you just like my checking account number.”
She stammered a bit in her broken English so I asked her what would be easier for her — card number or checking account number.
She replied my checking account number and I immediately began laughing.
“Do you really think I’m going to give you my checking account number?” I replied.
She immediately hung up the phone and I had a good laugh.
Sadly, however, this is not a laughing matter and this scam has been going on as early as February 28, according to the Roanoke Rapids Police Department.
The number was probably farther from D.C. than I am right now, since these days you and I can buy phones with any area code we please, police say. I could be in Costa Rica and buy a phone with a 252 area code.
That the scammer generation has hit cell phone users really becomes problematic because it makes it harder to track down, particularly when they are on the move.
Scammers may use the National Cellular Phone Directory to look up numbers, similar to going through an operator to find a landline number. I was going to use this for demonstration purposes but you have to create an account and give them your number to perform a search. No, thanks.
Some companies pay for cell phone numbers, some simply find your number on Facebook and LinkedIn and there are scammers who outright bribe people for lists and get them if the price is right.
The best thing to do when you receive these calls is to be straight forward, said Captain Andy Jackson of the police department. “Don’t sit there and exchange too much information with them. Tell them you’re not interested and hang up.”
Once you give these people your information that’s it — they can deplete your account and run your money through a fake LLC and wire it to another country within minutes, police said.
A 2009 federal report indicates scammers make some $500 million a year just through email schemes.
Jackson advises if you didn’t give personal information don’t worry but let your friends and loved ones know.
If you’re taken advantage of report it to your bank. “Otherwise you need to give yourself a hand for being smart and not getting scammed.”
A list of legitimate government grants can be found at www.grants.gov
If you think you’re the victim of a scam then you need to close affected accounts, file a police report and report it to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT.
And, Jackson said, place a fraud alert on your credit report.
“No one gives away anything for free,” police Chief Tommy Hathaway said. “Don’t give anything to people like this.”
Fortunately, I knew what the deal was when I heard the voice and the topic of the call. Many don’t. It’s up to us help those that don’t understand — Lance Martin
