Sweetwater Hit by More Phone Scams
By: Belinda Serrano, SweetwaterReporter.com
Updated: March 5, 2012
The Sweetwater Police Department (SPD) wants to make the public aware of
another recent phone scam that can have harsh financial consequences.
Detective Melinda Moncada with the SPD noted this new line of scamming has been ongoing for around a month. Scammers are calling and convincing residents that they can get a new car along with $1 million by purchasing a Walmart money card and loading it with a considerable amount of money. Once the card is loaded, the callers then activate it and gain access to the funds by transferring them to another card.
Not only is this scheme taking place in Sweetwater, but in the surrounding communities. Detective Moncada noted that an elderly lady in Roscoe fell victim to the ploy and went to the extreme length of taking out a loan, resulting in a loss of around $2,700.
Unfortunately, some people have also been caught up in the scam and are on their second or third time of giving the callers more money after being contacted again.
Detective Moncada shared that these criminals are out to get anyone that will take their vicious bait. The Internet and a published telephone number help scammers to get the information they want, but many of the numbers used by the callers are untraceable.
In the local incident, says Detective Moncada, family members made attempts to call the number back--only to find an automated voice on the other end of the line.
"We want to make the public aware of this to try to protect them from being another victim of the scam," Detective Moncada stressed, "people need to be cautious."
The SPD asks that they be contacted in the event of receiving any type of suspicious call.
They also emphasize that you should never give personal information to a caller unless you know for certain who has contacted you.
Detective Melinda Moncada with the SPD noted this new line of scamming has been ongoing for around a month. Scammers are calling and convincing residents that they can get a new car along with $1 million by purchasing a Walmart money card and loading it with a considerable amount of money. Once the card is loaded, the callers then activate it and gain access to the funds by transferring them to another card.
Not only is this scheme taking place in Sweetwater, but in the surrounding communities. Detective Moncada noted that an elderly lady in Roscoe fell victim to the ploy and went to the extreme length of taking out a loan, resulting in a loss of around $2,700.
Unfortunately, some people have also been caught up in the scam and are on their second or third time of giving the callers more money after being contacted again.
Detective Moncada shared that these criminals are out to get anyone that will take their vicious bait. The Internet and a published telephone number help scammers to get the information they want, but many of the numbers used by the callers are untraceable.
In the local incident, says Detective Moncada, family members made attempts to call the number back--only to find an automated voice on the other end of the line.
"We want to make the public aware of this to try to protect them from being another victim of the scam," Detective Moncada stressed, "people need to be cautious."
The SPD asks that they be contacted in the event of receiving any type of suspicious call.
They also emphasize that you should never give personal information to a caller unless you know for certain who has contacted you.
