Senior Citizen Loses Thousands In Fake Arrest Warrant Scam
SMITHFIELD – A Smithfield senior citizen lost $27,000 after falling victim to an elaborate phone scam involving a fake arrest warrant.
According to Smithfield Police, on October 31 the victim received a call from an individual claiming to be a law enforcement officer. The caller falsely stated that a warrant had been issued for the man’s arrest and that the only way to retract it was to make an immediate payment.
Over the course of three hours, the scammer instructed the victim to withdraw $9,000 in cash from his bank and deposit it into a Bitcoin machine to supposedly clear the warrant. The scammer remained on the phone throughout the entire process.
The fraudster later convinced the victim to pay an additional $18,000, bringing the total loss to $27,000.
The incident was reported to Smithfield Police on November 3. Investigators said the funds could not be recovered.
Authorities remind residents that legitimate law enforcement agencies will never demand payment over the phone—especially through cryptocurrency, gift cards, or wire transfers.
Police urge the public to report any suspicious calls to local law enforcement or the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov
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5 Comments
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Really, again. Didn’t the police literally just make a statement not to long ago that law enforcers would never ask for money especially through bitcoins and gift cards.
This particular scam has been going on for years. The scammers will continue doing it until everyone stops falling for it. Educate yourselves and everyone you care about. Most of the scammers are very good at convincing victims to believe pretty much anything.
Stupid
“The scammer remained on the phone throughout the entire process”.
This is a very common tactic that scammers use. It is to ensure that the victim doesn’t call anybody else who might tell the victim they’re getting scammed. The scammers use the illusion of urgency so the victim doesn’t have a chance to realize the scam. (Scammers have ZERO empathy for the victims of their crimes.)
Stop thinking these victims are stupid. They just haven’t been made aware that these scams exist. The more people who know about these scams, hopefully, the more people not falling for scams.
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. Proverbs 10:2