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GRANTSVILLE — An elderly Grantsville man was recently tricked into sending more than $8,000 to someone whom he thought was a lawyer in order to keep his son out of jail.
But police say it's just the latest example of a scam that is being seen more frequently and is typically hard to solve because of the use of untraceable phone numbers and money transfers.
On July 8, an elderly man in Tooele County was contacted by someone who "stated it was his son and he was involved in an accident with a pregnant woman," according to a search warrant filed in 3rd District Court.
The elderly man was "startled" and "very concerned" due to his son being deployed in Italy, and he was not able to contact him. The man on the phone told the elderly man to call his lawyer about the incident.
"The elderly victim contacted the 'lawyer,' and he was instructed to go to (a) Coinstar machine and send two transactions totaling $8,700 to an account number given to him over the phone," the warrant states.
But when the lawyer then told the elderly man that the charges against his son would be dropped if he sent another $12,000, "the victim knew it wasn't his son that requested the money and reported it to the police."
Police say both the number the man called from and the fake lawyer's number "cannot be traced" because "they appear to be roaming numbers used on different app platforms."
In April, West Jordan police investigated a similar case involving a man who received a phone call claiming his son was in jail for hitting a pregnant woman in a DUI-related crash. The man ended up paying $45,000 in cryptocurrency to try to help his son get out of jail, only to find out his son had never been arrested.
Grantsville Police Lt. Jeff Watson says in scams like these, whether the victim is elderly or a young person, the perpetrators will try to pressure victims into making a payment by making it sound like they have to help their loved one at that very moment.
"If they say, 'We're coming to the house to make an arrest,' tell them to go to house," he said. "Or go to (that) agency yourself."
Neither police nor the court system will ever call someone and claim that an officer is on their way to make an arrest but the arrest can be avoided if the victim pays money over the phone at that moment, Watson said.
"If the police are going to arrest you, they'll arrest you. You can't pay your way out of it," he said.
And if the person on the phone is asking for payment via Bitcoin or by using a generic reloadable credit card that can be purchased at a department store, "It's a guaranteed sign it's a scam," Watson said.
The biggest key, Watson says, is "Don't just take the word of a voice over the phone. Get someone else involved." And never try to call back the number that shows up on the called ID. Instead, call a listed number for a police agency or the court. Or if it involves a person overseas, call the local embassy.
In the Grantsville case, no arrests had been made as of Wednesday. Watson said investigators are following up on a possible lead, however, with help from law enforcers in another state.
