Teacher Left with 92 Cents After Falling Victim to Law Enforcement Impersonator
It's important to know that no law enforcement will ask for a payment over the phone or even in person. So, if you have ever been approached by a person claiming to be from law enforcement, then know that it's a scam you should avoid. Recently, a teacher's life turned upside down by a call that left her with only 92 cents in her bank account. Brittanie said that she received a call from who she thought was the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office.
The scammer posing as an officer told the teacher that she had missed jury duty. “I have a warrant out for my arrest and I owe $15,000,” said Brittanie, recalling the incident. “They were very direct, they were hateful and they were just telling me direct orders," via KWCH.
The teacher told the publication that she was threatened with weeks in jail, which left her worried about her career and her life. "I was thinking about my family, my dog, and how I can take care of it rather than having my family bail me out," said Brittanie.
As per Better Business Bureau, these government imposters have successfully drained over $445 million from the country. “In a vacuum, a lot of these decisions make complete sense,” said Planos. “It is a lot easier to work out those outcomes when you’re not put under that pressure," said BBB's Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations Josh Planos.
According to Brittanie, the scammers who approached her knew a lot about her, including her banking details. "This is not a cold call in the way it’s often presented," said Planos. "These are very tactical exercises for folks who are very experienced with putting people into corners and box them in."
As per BBB, the first thing that the target must do is ignore the sense of urgency that the scammer tries to instill. Here are some steps you should take to avoid law enforcement impersonator scams.
For starters, the bureau asks everybody to never give in to pressure. This is easier said than done as the threats that the scammers use can get to your head sometimes. Therefore, it's best to hang up the phone and cross-check.
Secondly, you mustn't send money or personal information to strangers. The third point is an extension of the second which requires you to gatekeep your personal information as much as possible. Moreover, with Mother's Day approaching, The Better Business Bureau also warned every person against florists and jewelry scams which soar every year around this time.
"Ensure that you double and triple-check that URL, particularly on mobile, because you’re already getting that abridged version," said Josh Planos, Vice President of Communications with the Better Business Bureau. "This can hide a lot of sensitive characters that would lead you to believe that you’re not actually on the site that you think you are." As for Brittanie, her mother has currently set up a GoFundMe page, where you can head to help her with her expenses.