Impersonation is a common scam tactic
Anyone can lie on the phone.
Gilmer County residents found this fact out over the last few weeks as a number of scammers impersonated Amazon, the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) and lending companies over the phone.
“Scammers were busy this week,” the GCSO weekly roundup press release for Friday, Feb. 6 said.
The following three scams from the week of Jan. 30 were impersonation or impostor scams.
These rackets pretend to be an institution you trust so you will send them money.
One scammer sent a Gilmer resident a text claiming their Amazon order was part of a product safety recall, and that they should click on a link.
The resident didn’t have an order that matched the order number mentioned by the scam.
Then, they forwarded information about the scam to the GCSO.
Another scammer called a Gilmer resident and posed as a lending company called “Learning Point Lending.”
The caller, who identified himself as “David,” promised to give the resident $2,000. If the resident sent the caller $200, the caller would send him an additional $5,000.
The resident gave the caller his social security number and bank information. But when he tried to withdraw the $2,000 the scammer put into his account, his account fell into the negatives.
The resident immediately froze his accounts. He had not yet sent the scammer $200.
The scammer called back the victim while GCSO deputies were on the phone. GCSO Corporal Jeremy Carver told “David” that the GCSO and the victim know now that the call was a scam.
A last scam caller claimed to work for the GCSO and demanded that a local business pay legal fines via bitcoin.
For a moment, the store’s owners thought the scam was real. They drove to a local store to buy bitcoins. But before they made the purchase, they realized it was a scam and didn’t transfer money.
“Amazon doesn’t text surprise links. Legitimate businesses don’t send you money and ask for some back. Law enforcement does not demand fines by phone. We do not accept Bitcoin, gift cards, wire transfers or grocery-store payments,” the GCSO said.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, scams that impersonate government organizations are fairly common.
To avoid them, you shouldn’t ever wire money, send gift cards, send cryptocurrency or use a payment app to give money to the government.
You also shouldn’t give personal information to a caller, click on unexpected links or fully trust what your caller ID feature says.
Another online fraudster threatened a local family Saturday Jan. 31. He called the family’s son and said he had his father’s name, social security number and address. When the family refused to give him money, the scammer threatened to show up at their house and harm them.
GCSO Deputy Jesse Ledford visited the house. After repeated calls, he was able to get through to the scammers and tell them to leave the family alone.
A ping of the phone number revealed it was from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The number appears to belong to a man named Jackson Palmer.
GCSO will continue investigating the incident.
On Feb. 2, a local landscaper realized he had fallen for a fake check scam.
Scammers hired him to take care of a property, and mailed him a check for $12,500. He deposited the check, then sent the scammers back $1,500 through Zelle and went to get $3,500 in money orders to send them.
Then, his bank told him the check had bounced. The property the scammers said they owned was still for sale.
Thankfully, the business owner was still able to cancel the money orders.