A Walmart employee saved a Portsmouth, Ohio woman from losing a bundle to an arrest warrant scam. The woman fell victim to scammers and reported it to the police on Tuesday. These same scammers targeted another Portsmouth man on Wednesday. Fortunately, he did not fall for it.
These crooks contacted the woman and told her there were warrants for her arrest in Texas for drug trafficking and money laundering. Scammers claimed police there found a car registered in her name with blood inside. They also claimed they’d executed a search warrant at a home belonging to her. They asked for her Social Security number and her bank account information. Unfortunately, she gave it to them. The scammers then demanded money cards from Walmart. The woman attempted to buy the cards as instructed, but thankfully a clerk at Walmart would not sell the cards to her. She told the woman it sounded like a scam.
The woman contacted Portsmouth Police and her bank. Officers suggested she file a report with the FBI.
But she wasn’t the only Portsmouth, Ohio resident targeted with the arrest warrant scam. A man came to the Portsmouth Police Department on Wednesday to report, he’d received a similar call. He did not give out his information.
Jackson Man Lost $12,000 To Scam
We’ve told you about these government imposter scams before. Two weeks ago an elderly Jackson, Ohio man was scammed out of $12,000 by crooks that claimed his daughter-in-law had been arrested. A man impersonating an attorney told the victim he could get the judge to issue a gag order to keep the daughter-in-law’s mugshot offline, but that the victim needed to pay $12,000 to bond her out first. The fake attorney claimed a municipal court employee would stop by his house in a U-Haul vehicle to pick up the money in order to conceal their identity. The victim spoke to the fake attorney three more times about the incident. Sadly, there was no Walmart employee to protect him from the arrest warrant scam. A man in his 20’s showed up around to collect the money.
These criminals make outrageous claims like warrants for money laundering to activate a fear response. They hope that your heart starts pounding so fast that you can’t think straight about what you’re doing. Sadly, it works a lot of the time.
Spot The Fakers
Remember two important things about arrest warrant scams.
- Government agencies don’t call you up and demand money over the phone. That’s not how warrants are handled. EVER!
- Beware of anyone who wants you to pay them with a gift card or a money card. It is almost always a scam.
If you are concerned that you’re in trouble with the law, look up the number of the agency yourself and give them a call. If you’re been targeted by these creeps, click here to report the scam to the FBI.
