Scams to Look Out For
The Bath Police have received some reports of various scams being perpetrated against Bath residents through online solicitations and directed phone calls. Some of these cases involve the loss of thousands of dollars. One recent incident involved the “grandparent” scam. These types of scams have a person calling elderly residents claiming to be that person’s grandchild, and usually something like the grandchild is in trouble, under arrest, and needs bail money immediately, with a request to not call their parents (the grandparents’ children) to verify. These scams can be very deceptive and utilize information gained online from social media accounts, such as who your relatives are, where they live, etc. Suspects are well-versed and can be very persuasive. These scams have been around for at least a decade or more.
Unfortunately, there usually isn’t much we can do with these scams, especially when there is little information to go on and the scammers have covered their tracks so well.
In some cases, the caller has a second person talk on the phone pretending to be a lawyer, police officer, court officer, bail commissioner, etc., who request money be sent to an address immediately. These addresses are usually semi-anonymous addresses or borrowed for a one-time use.
Scams can occur anywhere and to anyone, and local law enforcement oftentimes have difficulty making a strong case, usually due to the sophistication of the scam. Phone numbers are often dead ends, as technology allows for scammers to clone, hide, or hijack other phone numbers.
We try to share knowledge of these scams through our own messaging, on social media and elsewhere, and in community outreach, such as senior newsletters or through our TRIAD meetings. TRIAD groups are usually composed of law enforcement, senior citizen resources, and community members to address areas of concern for seniors, such as scams. In our local TRIAD group, AARP often shares information about common scams, and the rest of the group members pass on this knowledge to seniors. There has also been TV and radio news coverage in the past. I know our Attorney General’s office puts out information about these, as well as the FCC.
I’m also a member of the Maine Council for Elder Abuse Prevention (https://elderabuseprevention.info/). These types of scams are frequently brought up in this council and various forms of public education messaging and workshops have been done in the past, but the council’s primary focus is on different forms of abuse and financial exploitation, usually by family or caregivers.
For internet-based scams, we usually transfer them to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center, or IC3 (https://www.ic3.gov/) as we do not have the technical resources to investigate them effectively and they are outside our jurisdiction. Computer based scams can also be very effective and difficult to prosecute and are both national and international at times.
The best advice for seniors, or anyone, is to verify the information they are receiving before acting. When in doubt, call your local law enforcement agency before acting, to see if they can assist in determining if something is a scam. Don’t give out any personal information and don’t send any type of money (credit card account #, money order, cash, check, or pre-paid cash card, etc.) unless you’re absolutely sure it is legitimate. Scammers’ efforts focus on creating an exigency or emergency to try to get an emotional and panicked response from their victims, making them act before really thinking about what they’re doing. They target seniors as they have had the best luck victimizing them, for various reasons.
The more we become educated and experienced protecting ourselves from scams, the better. However, know that scammers will continue to change their approach to stay ahead of law enforcement and continue victimizing people.
Andrew M. Booth
Chief of Police
Bath Police Dept.
250 Water St.
Bath, ME 04530
207-443-8339