Political calls will end, scam calls continue
Parkland residents wise up to scammers
By PAULA BARR
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Published: Monday, November 03, 2008
Updated: Monday, November 3, 2008 9:51 AM CST
Updated: Monday, November 3, 2008 9:51 AM CST
Even the scammers have been campaigning hard on the telephone for residents’ attention recently.
Parkland residents have reported a wide variety of phone scams, some of which are recycled versions of earlier schemes.
A Park Hills woman received a call from a “U.S. Marshal.” He asked for her by name and told her she had $35 million coming, but she would have to send him $49 to get the money.
“I told him no, I wasn’t interested because I didn’t have $49 to gamble with,” the woman said. “I told him, ‘If I did, I would not give you anything over the phone. This is nothing but a scam!
“If I won that money, take the $49 out of that money and send it to me.”
The man called three times in one day, then called the next day and a third day. One of the calls showed up as having come from UPS.
The man’s story kept changing. The woman asked her daughter to answer the call on the second day.
“He told her she could come get the money, but she would have to come to Jamaica,” the woman related.
The amount of winnings dropped over the three-day period. Finally, the caller said she was entitled to $25,000, and if she didn’t claim it, he would give it to the IRS.
“I said go ahead, they’ll get it anyway.”
Violet Basler received the latest version on the Medicare/Medicaid scam when a man called to explain that he had a card she needed for medical coverage.
The man said he had a “red, white and blue” medical card for her that was supposed to “pay for everything.” He said it was not a Medicare card. The man began asking a series of questions that required “yes” or “no” answers.
Did she have a medical card?
Was she interested in medical coverage?
Did he have her name right?
Was she a longtime resident of Farmington?
“It was a foreign voice,” Basler recalled. “He kept asking questions. Then he said, “We have this new red, white and blue medical card. He never gave the name of his card.
Basler played along until the man asked her to verify personal information. She cut him off.
“You’ve done the talking up to now, so now I’m going to be the one to talk,” she said. “I know Medicare does not call people to renew their card. So I know you’re a scam artist and I don’t appreciate you trying to scam me!
“I don’t want you to call this number again.”
At that point, she punched the number sign several times, then hung up.
He hasn’t called back.
A Bonne Terre resident received a phone call from “Brett Green of Nationwide Settlement.” Green said he was calling from Nationwide Settlement, and he was calling because the woman owed an $8,000 unsecured debt. He didn’t know to whom.
“It could be an auto repo, a credit card or an unpaid medical bill,” he said.
“I don’t think so,” the woman replied.
The man was insistent. She owned the money and he had to update his records. When she pressed him for answers, he hung up.
The woman checked her caller ID and checked the Internet for the owner of that phone number. The number was listed to a cafe in New Jersey called Salad Works.
When a Daily Journal reporter called the cafe, an employee answered the phone, “Salad Works.” He said he did not know a Brett Green, and said he would alert the cafe owner that someone was using the company number for a scam.
Some scammers set up fake accounts using real names to make phone calls over the Internet. That way, the victim cannot trace the call to the scammer.
Political campaign calls will soon end for this election, but criminals who make their money through scams will continue to try their schemes by phone, e-mail or “snail” mail. A good rule of thumb is to never give out personal information on the phone unless you initiated the call and know to whom you are speaking. That way, the scammers can call all they want, but their devious efforts will be fruitless.
The Daily Journal has made a commitment to keep readers abreast of scams that hit our area. If someone tries to make you the victim of a scam, call us at 431-2010 and tell us what happened. We will include your story in our scam alert series to prepare others who may find themselves in the same situation. The Daily Journal will run Scam Alert stories in the paper every Monday.
Parkland residents have reported a wide variety of phone scams, some of which are recycled versions of earlier schemes.
A Park Hills woman received a call from a “U.S. Marshal.” He asked for her by name and told her she had $35 million coming, but she would have to send him $49 to get the money.
“I told him no, I wasn’t interested because I didn’t have $49 to gamble with,” the woman said. “I told him, ‘If I did, I would not give you anything over the phone. This is nothing but a scam!
“If I won that money, take the $49 out of that money and send it to me.”
The man called three times in one day, then called the next day and a third day. One of the calls showed up as having come from UPS.
The man’s story kept changing. The woman asked her daughter to answer the call on the second day.
“He told her she could come get the money, but she would have to come to Jamaica,” the woman related.
The amount of winnings dropped over the three-day period. Finally, the caller said she was entitled to $25,000, and if she didn’t claim it, he would give it to the IRS.
“I said go ahead, they’ll get it anyway.”
Violet Basler received the latest version on the Medicare/Medicaid scam when a man called to explain that he had a card she needed for medical coverage.
The man said he had a “red, white and blue” medical card for her that was supposed to “pay for everything.” He said it was not a Medicare card. The man began asking a series of questions that required “yes” or “no” answers.
Did she have a medical card?
Was she interested in medical coverage?
Did he have her name right?
Was she a longtime resident of Farmington?
“It was a foreign voice,” Basler recalled. “He kept asking questions. Then he said, “We have this new red, white and blue medical card. He never gave the name of his card.
Basler played along until the man asked her to verify personal information. She cut him off.
“You’ve done the talking up to now, so now I’m going to be the one to talk,” she said. “I know Medicare does not call people to renew their card. So I know you’re a scam artist and I don’t appreciate you trying to scam me!
“I don’t want you to call this number again.”
At that point, she punched the number sign several times, then hung up.
He hasn’t called back.
A Bonne Terre resident received a phone call from “Brett Green of Nationwide Settlement.” Green said he was calling from Nationwide Settlement, and he was calling because the woman owed an $8,000 unsecured debt. He didn’t know to whom.
“It could be an auto repo, a credit card or an unpaid medical bill,” he said.
“I don’t think so,” the woman replied.
The man was insistent. She owned the money and he had to update his records. When she pressed him for answers, he hung up.
The woman checked her caller ID and checked the Internet for the owner of that phone number. The number was listed to a cafe in New Jersey called Salad Works.
When a Daily Journal reporter called the cafe, an employee answered the phone, “Salad Works.” He said he did not know a Brett Green, and said he would alert the cafe owner that someone was using the company number for a scam.
Some scammers set up fake accounts using real names to make phone calls over the Internet. That way, the victim cannot trace the call to the scammer.
Political campaign calls will soon end for this election, but criminals who make their money through scams will continue to try their schemes by phone, e-mail or “snail” mail. A good rule of thumb is to never give out personal information on the phone unless you initiated the call and know to whom you are speaking. That way, the scammers can call all they want, but their devious efforts will be fruitless.
The Daily Journal has made a commitment to keep readers abreast of scams that hit our area. If someone tries to make you the victim of a scam, call us at 431-2010 and tell us what happened. We will include your story in our scam alert series to prepare others who may find themselves in the same situation. The Daily Journal will run Scam Alert stories in the paper every Monday.
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