Scam Alert–Telephone Scam Aimed at Seniors Sweeping the Country

One of my elder law practioner-friends, Julian Zweber, was called by scammers this week.  Julian smelled a rat, and now he’s working with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Dept. to track down the scammers.  I understand from other colleagues that variations of the scam are is sweeping the country.  It has been very effective in bilking seniors of a LOT of money.

Details on the Minneapolis/St. Paul version. 

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about telephone scams.

Individuals are calling residents and telling them there is a warrant out for their arrest because of unpaid court fees or unpaid fines. The phone scammer tells residents that they will be arrested unless they provide credit card or payment information.

Police departments in the metro area also have received reports about phone scammers who tell residents that they owe back taxes. The phone scammers threaten that law enforcement officers will arrest residents who don’t provide payment information over the phone.

The IRS and the Minnesota Department of Revenue have recently issued alerts reminding people that their agencies do not call residents about tax issues. Instead, these agencies send letters to residents.

Nationally, there are a variety of different phone scams. Some of the con artists impersonate an IRS agent, a state revenue department representative, a Sheriff’s deputy, a police officer, or personnel from other federal law enforcement agencies.

The phone scams have resulted in identity theft, fraud, and unauthorized credit card use.

Never provide personal information or credit card numbers over the phone unless you know that the call is legitimate. People who receive a telephone call that appears suspicious, should NOT provide personal information and should instead call local law enforcement or call 911 to report the incident.

Do not rely on caller ID to verify the origin of a phone call. In some cases, calls from phone scammers will appear on a caller ID as originating from a law enforcement agency or government agency, when in reality the call is a hoax and a result of technology that manipulates caller ID. If you are uncertain about the identify of a caller; hang up the phone, locate the official phone number of the agency that called you, and call the agency directly.