Spotting Scams
I received a distressing call this Monday. A man claiming to be with the OKC Sheriff’s Department informed me that I had missed a jury summons and a warrant was out for my arrest. My first instinct was to assume it was a scam, but he was thorough: he had my real name, my real address and clearly my phone number. He had the other details right: he had the real address for my nearest sheriff’s department, and when I asked why there was no caller ID, he called me from a second phone number that matched the sheriff department’s phone number.
I told him I’d never received a summons and he was reassuring, not threatening. “Just come down to the station and we’ll get this all cleared up”, he said. After all, if he was a scammer then why would he invite me to the police station? However, I had to stay on the line until I got to the police department to prove that I was not a flight risk, and I *also* needed to make a deposit for a bond of $3,000. After all, people with warrants out for their arrest cannot set foot on state property or they will be arrested on sight.
THERE IT WAS. Every phone scam has two critical components:
- Urgency to make a payment immediately
- You *cannot* talk to anyone else about it
This scam was clever; if I hung up then the police would deem me a flight risk. That rules out calling my wife, a lawyer, or anyone else to discuss what’s going on. I told the man on the phone that this call had the two hallmarks of a scam call and he instantly hung up.
I am fortunate that we advisors receive annual training on scams and was able to identify this one correctly, but the sophistication was impressive. Spoofing the real sheriff’s phone number was a new trick I had not expected. However, the two key identifiers of scams will always help you spot a scam caller. No real bank, credit card company, police officer, or any other legitimate institution will demand a payment immediately and expressly discourage you from talking to anyone else.
If you are ever uncertain whether you have received a scam call, your first step should be speaking to a trusted family member or friend, or of course our team here at Eternal Wealth Management. We are here to protect your wealth, and that includes protecting you from scams.