A reader reported this morning being on the receiving end of this phone scam..
All she has to do to claim $150,000 is to send $400 to a man in New Haven, Connecticut. Since she wasn't born yesterday, she called the police department, only to learn they don't track calls. She was directed to the Attorney General's office but, of course, it is closed on Saturday.
Then she called the New Haven, Conn. police and learned they don't take telephone complaints. So much for being a concerned citizen.
Next step could be to contact the U.S. Postal Service. By the time she gets through the voicetree there and to the right person, she'll have hours invested. Maybe she should have just sent the $400 and saved her time...
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
5 comments:
This follow-up came from the reader about the phone scam:
"Yes, I live in Woodstock, but when I called the police to trace the call, while he was on the phone, they said they do not do that and refered me to the States Attorney General's office.
I sent my information onto them there and when I called the CT police, they said that it may not even be in New Haven Ct that the activity is going on. They may have used a name from there, and then can pick it up from Western Union anywhere in CT, not necessarily in the city it was sent to originally. So, I also learned a little more about Western Union.
"The other thing I thought of later is that it was $400.00. $500 would be a felony, so they are smart enough to keep it within limits of lower charges.
"Who says crime doesn't pay?
Well, it didn't pay for them from me today at least. I just can't believe how bold the crooks are that are scamming people. Thanks for your concern."
I can understand the Woodstock Police not being able to set up an immediate trace on the call. They would have to make arrangements with the telephone company.
The attitude of the New Haven, Conn. P.D. is appalling. While a Western Union money order can be cashed anywhere, it was to be delivered by mail to the New Haven street address.
I encourage the reader to call someone higher than the phone-answerer at the P.D. Maybe start with the Chief's office, and let it filter down from there.
Also, contact the USPS right away. They might just send the Postal Service police to watch mail deliveries to that address.
The other thing you should do is call the Woodstock Police Department back and make a formal report of this scam. Get the report number from the officer who takes your report. Tell them that you WANT them to take the report. Let me know how it goes.
They can not take telephone reports because they can not verify the identity of the person they are talking to nor can the person on the phone sign the complaint with them witnessing them sign it.
Possibly the FBI?
Also, the Woodstock Police department can not just call the phone company and request a "trace" on the call. That is only on TV.
*57. It will trace the last call received on a landline and can only be retrieved by the police who need to provide a case #. They should have at least had investigations follow up on it even though the complainant was smart enough not to become a victim.
Has to be set up before the incident QWA. Can't just hit *57 and then call them up for info.
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