A Rocky River woman was on her computer in February when she saw a popup with a phone number and a message saying she had to call Microsoft.
She called the number and was told there was child pornography on her computer. The person she was talking to connected her to what they said was the Federal Trade Commission. (It wasn’t).
She was told she had to get a new Social Security number and move her funds out of the bank because they were attached to her old number.
Too frantic to question the instructions of the person she believed to be a federal official, she purchased gold coins and handed them to a stranger who arrived in a car then drove away without a word.
She lost between $400,000 and $500,000.
This is one of many reports the Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs’ Scam Squad has received in recent years, said Sheryl Harris, director of the department.
“The only people who send couriers to your home to pick up cash, gold, anything, are scammers,” she said.
Imposter scams are common
The most common swindles in Cuyahoga County are known as impostor scams, meaning someone impersonates a sheriff’s deputy or police officer, Harris said. They tell people they missed jury duty or a court appearance for expert testimony and they will be arrested if they don’t go to the Justice Center immediately.
Once the person is on their way, the scammer will say something like, “The judge had an emergency” and tell the victim the way to avoid arrest is to pay a fine.
“When people are in the middle of panicking and freaking out that something bad is happening to them, sometimes they just need the bad thing to stop,” Harris said.
When impersonating law enforcement, scammers will often use a real officer’s name. So a quick Google search is not enough.
Law enforcement won’t call someone to let them know they’re going to be arrested, Harris said. They also won’t call about a missed court appearance and won’t direct a person to move funds.
The scammer will often tell the person they can’t hang up or put the call on hold or they’ll be arrested, Harris said. But it’s not a crime to hang up on a police officer.
Tips from the Scam Squad
Here are some easy rules Harris said help people avoid scams:
- Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. Let the calls go to voicemail. If the message is vague, don’t call back.
- If you get a call or text warning about a problem with an account, log into your bank account as you normally would and check. Don’t interact with the text or return the call.
- Don’t click on links you get from unknown sources, whether via email, social media or text messages.
- Try to verify information. Call the local police department yourself or call the county’s Scam Squad at 216-443-7226.
“If someone calls you and they present you with a problem, take a couple deep breaths,” Harris said. “If they’re telling you that there’s a problem and you have to pay right away to resolve it, that’s a scam.”
Harris advises people to take a step back, disconnect from a call or stop engaging. A scammer tries to stay on a call with a person as long as possible because they don’t want the person to check with others about whether the call is legitimate.
“And only a scammer is going to tell you to lie” to your bank about why you’re withdrawing or moving money, to a store teller about why you’re buying gift cards, or to hide information from your family.
Getting your money back isn’t easy
Whether or not a person will get their money back depends on the method they used to send it and how soon they report a scam.
It’s easier to stop a payment if it was transferred through a bank account if the problem is immediately reported to the bank.
If a payment is made through Bitcoin, gift cards, gold or cash, it’s almost impossible to get that money back.
“Scammers are always looking for payments in ways that are hard to reverse,” Harris said. “So if you’re making a payment to someone in a way that you wouldn’t ordinarily make a payment, that’s not a great idea. You might want to stop and check that out.”
Scam Squad brings Scamo at the Cuyahoga County Fair
In 2019, the Scam Squad created a bingo-like game called Scamo to teach people about common scams and how to avoid them.
On Aug. 6, people can play Scamo at the Cuyahoga County Fair at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Fairgrounds’ Olde Barn Pavilion. The Scam Squad will also staff a table throughout the fair to teach people about common scams.
The Scam Squad can also plan a Scamo game session with organizations around the county.
