via the Georgetown Police Department
Recently we had a few citizens receive a concerning phone call, hearing a person screaming for help or something similar. Then a person claiming to be “in the cartel” speaks to the victim/phone call receiver and states a family member was being kidnapped. The person on the phone demands the victim meet with them at a local business and pay a ransom or they would kill the family member.
This indeed would be a stressful and scary phone call to receive. Do not give the name or ask if it a specific family member by name is the person kidnapped. For example, they may say “We have your child/son/daughter/grandchild.” DO NOT ask “You have (name of family member”? They will likely agree and play on your emotions to get you to act immediately. They may threaten you to not call the police, you have x number of minutes, etc. to pressure you into paying money. If you have access to another phone, put the caller on mute and call the person they claimed to have kidnapped.
If it is a child who should be in school, you can contact the school and verify with staff your child is safe. If you cannot reach the person who was “kidnapped” then contact the local police to help locate the person/family member to ensure they are safe. Quite simply, if an unrecognized phone number contacts you, you could let it go to voicemail which you can check. If you are suspicious of the voicemail, you can contact the non-emergency number for your local police and we can assist you on determining if it is a legitimate call or likely a scam.
Some other scams to watch out for this year:
1. Government impostor scams: “Government impostors call unsuspecting victims and pretend to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration, or Medicare,” according to the National Council on Aging. “They may say you have unpaid taxes and threaten arrest or deportation if you don’t pay up immediately.”
DO NOT provide personal identifying information (that can then be used to commit fraud). Hang up and call your local office to see if you have an issue with the government entity.
2. The Local Law Enforcement Warrant Scam: The caller pretends to be a local law enforcement officer from Georgetown PD or Sheriff’s office. The “officer” states you will have warrant for your arrest unless you pay immediately via money wire, personal account/credit/debit information or gift cards. Understand we, as law enforcement agencies, will not ask you to pay for fines via telephone.
If you suspect you are being scammed, get the caller’s call back information and state you will contact them back and verify the name. They may pressure you or attempt to threaten you with arrest. Do no be afraid to hang up. Contact the agency they claim to be and request to speak to the named person. If they claim to be with Georgetown Police Department, contact the non-emergency number (512) 930-3510 and speak with dispatch about the phone call you received.
They can get you in contact with an on-duty to talk about your phone call and advise whether or not it was an attempted scam. Again, we will NEVER as for payment via telephone as police officers do not accept monies for fines of any kind. Monies for legitimate fines are paid to courts.
3. Medicare/health insurance scams: “In these types of scams, perpetrators may pose as a Medicare representative to get older people to give them their personal information, or they will provide bogus services for elderly people at makeshift mobile clinics, then bill Medicare and pocket the money,” according to the National Council on Aging. “Medicare scams often follow the latest trends in medical research, such as genetic testing fraud and COVID-19 vaccines.”
If you need any medical services like vaccines, testing, etc., contact your primary care physician and they will make the referral, giving you the specific company or clinic that will contact or may contact you.
4. Computer tech support scams: “Computer technical support scams prey on people’s lack of knowledge about computers and cybersecurity,” according to the National Council on Aging. “When you call the support number for help, the scammer may either request remote access to your computer and/or that you pay a fee to have it repaired. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that seniors who fell for this scam lost an average of $500 each to computer tech support scams in 2018.”
If you have any computer issues and need assistance, only contact numbers you know have been verified as legitimate companies. You may have received tech support contacts with your computer manual that can be trusted or referred to local companies who provide tech support. Do your research before you contact over the phone computer technology assistance, especially if someone contacts you claiming your computer is in need of repair if you have not noticed any issues when using your computer.
5. Sweepstakes & lottery scams: This simple scam is one that many are familiar with, and it capitalizes on the notion that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” the National Council on Aging said. “Here, scammers inform their mark that they have won a lottery or sweepstakes of some kind and need to make some sort of payment to unlock the supposed prize.”
DO NOT send any money, especially if they ask payment to be in the form of a gift card.
If you suspect you’ve been the victim of a scam or think someone may be trying to scam you, don’t be afraid or embarrassed to talk about it with someone you trust. You are not alone, and there are people who can help.
Doing nothing could only make it worse. Keep handy the phone numbers and resources you can turn to, including the local police, your bank (if money has been taken from your accounts), and Adult Protective Services.
To obtain the contact information for Adult Protective Services in your area, call the Eldercare Locator, a government sponsored national resource line, at: 1-800-677-1116, or visit their website at: https://eldercare.acl.gov.
You can also report scams online to the Federal Trade Commission. Learn more by reading “The Top 10 Financial Scams Targeting Seniors” by the National Council on Aging.
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