Stop The Scam - When Love & Money Does Not Equal Happiness
May 24, 2023Season 1
City of Perry Communications Office
In today's digital world, scammers are becoming more sophisticated. It is important to always slow down and be cautious when someone asks for your personal information.
In today's episode, Perry Police Department Detective Sergeant Wilcox explains what scams to look for and how to avoid becoming a victim.
If you like Inside Perry - subscribe and share the podcast with friends and family. The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms.
In today's digital world, scammers are becoming more sophisticated. It is important to always slow down and be cautious when someone asks for your personal information.
In today's episode, Perry Police Department Detective Sergeant Wilcox explains what scams to look for and how to avoid becoming a victim.
If you like Inside Perry - subscribe and share the podcast with friends and family. The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms.
We hope to see you around in our amazing community...Where Georgia Comes Together.
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
Romance scams don't follow the typical pattern that the other ones do. Because of the time invested into 'em by the part of the person committing the scam, they can invest sometimes up six months to several years of effort. Into these, but during that time, what they do is they build a trust and a highly emotional relationship with the victim.
Amber Garrett:
Welcome to the Inside Perry Podcast, where you get an inside look at Perry George's local government. We're glad you chose Perry, where people make the difference. Whether you stay a few hours or a lifetime, your time in Perry will be rewarding and unforgettable. I'm Amber Garrett, Communications Specialist for the City of Perry. The Perry Police Department's mission is to provide quality service and partnership with our community, which promotes safe and secure neighborhoods. One way they're striving to achieve this goal is through proactive teaching on scam awareness and prevention. So today we're kicking off a three part series about the most common scams that the Perry Police Department deals with. These can range from identity theft to even fake love interest. Detective Sergeant Ike Wilcox is with us today to share the importance of identifying these scams and recognizing the most common red flags. So welcome. We're happy that you're here. Very briefly, tell us about your time with the Perry Police Department.
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
Absolutely, and thank you for having me. I joined the Perry Police Department early in 2014, after seven years at a previous agency, so I have a total of 15 years combined service on patrol with six of those in a supervisory role. I've been assigned to the criminal investigation division as a detective for nearly two years now, and during that time we've seen a major uptick in reported scams. We've learned since then that the best defense to scams is a good offense. So we're hoping to educate as many people as possible and reduce victimization in our community.
Amber Garrett:
Very good. And that's what we're doing today. We're being proactive about the issue. Speaking of, you know, scammers have found new and sophisticated ways to deceive unsuspecting people. This typically can lead behind a trail of financial loss and emotional distress. So one of the ways scammers contact their victims is by pretending to be from an organization that they're familiar with. From your experience, what could this look like?
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
Well, it's important to note that first of all, these scammers are very smart. They're not gonna arrive on your doorstep wearing a sign. That identifies them as a criminal. If they did, they never succeed, of course. So instead, they disguise themselves just as the big bad wolf did, a little red riding Hood when he dressed up in grandma's clothing. They lure you into a sense of security by posing as a person or business that you're already familiar with. So we commonly see scams posing as bigger businesses such as, uh, Amazon or their customer service, Walmart, Kohl's, other major retailers. On the other hand, they also pose sometimes as government agencies such as the IRS or Social Security Administration. And these are all organizations that we commonly associate with. So it's easy to assume that they're legitimate.
Amber Garrett:
Right. And these scams can come from, you know, emails or phone calls. It doesn't have to be a one stop shop for these scammers.
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
Correct. Well, a lot of times they, you know, advertise that, uh, you won a prize and, and who wouldn't love a prize or a reward?
Amber Garrett:
Right.
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
So they know what you want and they want you to be emotionally involved. They want you to be excited. They cannot force you to fall victim. So they draw you in first I often use the, uh, comparison of fishing. The prize being offered is the bait on the hook, and you're the fish. If you like what you see, you'll bite, but then you're hooked. Once you're hooked, you may not realize that you're actually being pulled in step by step, just as the scammer dictates. And once you're caught, then your identity, your money, your personal security are all compromised.
Amber Garrett:
Right scammers also try to make you act now or act fast so you don't have much time to think before acting or engaging with these scammers. What could a situation like this look like for somebody?
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
And that's also a trap of emotion and uh, it can appear in two forms. One, it'll say to act before it's too late or you'll lose a reward prize, just like I mentioned before. Examples of that you'll see advertisement say you know, this offer will expire in a matter of minutes. You act now, there are limited quantities of the prize remaining. Or two, you'll be pressured to act quickly to avoid a loss or a punishment, such as your account has been compromised. Validate your information now or it'll be locked. A wire transfer is scheduled on your account. Move your money to another location now. You have a warrant paid a fine or be arrested, again, these are all acting on a motion to either get you excited or to scare you. So the best way to combat that is just slow down and don't allow someone else to rush you into a decision.
Amber Garrett:
So when people receive these messages from scammers, do they typically ask their victims to pay in a specific way?
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
Yes, and it's actually a very common practice used by them. What we see that most commonly is payment through gift cards. Criminals love gift cards cause they're typically untraceable. We now live in a digital world that our older community is, is not used to. It's, it's quickly evolving. So in this digital world, once the scammer has the gift card information, uh, the money vanishes into the abyss of the wireless world. The worst part of the gift card scam is that they require the victim to voluntarily remove the money from their own bank account and put the funds onto the gift card. Well, this makes the victim what the banks call a willing participant. Meaning that they don't give the money back.
Amber Garrett:
Right. So these scammers are looking for ways to really just have control over how the money is transferred. Besides what we've already discussed, what are some other ways that you have seen scammers work?
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
So, unfortunately, one of the more common ones that we're seeing are romance scams. Romance scams don't follow the typical pattern that the other ones do because of the time invested into 'em by the part of the person committing the scam. They can invest sometimes up to six months to several years of effort into these. But during that time, what they do is they build a trust and a highly emotional relationship with the victim.
Amber Garrett:
These relationships, do they typically begin on a social media platform?
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
Typically, yes, and, and that's another unique trait about it, is. In this case, the scammer doesn't go looking for the victim. The victim goes looking for love, but actually finds the scammer. So these predators literally sit back. They wait for someone to come to them, which makes the victim even more vulnerable. So even though they don't follow the. Model of a typical scam. There's still some of the major warning signs. They ask you to act on a motion. They ask you to pay by specific means, and, um, usually through gift cards or international wire transfers.
Amber Garrett:
So, there are ways that you can stop a scam from happening. If it's phone call or a suspicious email, you can obviously ignore that and not engage with them. What else can someone do?
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
Well I said it once is slow down. You control the dialogue and the pace. Don't allow yourself to be pushed and don't allow yourself to become emotionally involved. Never make a decision based on just emotional alone. There's also the old adage, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. Unfortunately, a lot of our victims sit back after this has happened and they use phrases like, I knew better. I should have known better. I can't believe that I fell, fell victim to this. So just take the extra time, slow it down. And, uh, finally, if you've got any doubt about a scam, then give us a call. We definitely prefer to take the time and effort to prevent you from becoming a victim rather than investigating a crime after the fact.
Amber Garrett:
If the listeners are interested in attending an informational class about this topic where you will be speaking, you know, further in depth about this they're in luck, can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming presentation at the Worrall Center?
Detective Sergeant Wilcox:
Absolutely on June the eighth, uh, beginning at
6:
00 PM we're gonna host a informational session on, on just a more detailed, in depth version, uh, of this topic from 6:00 to 8:00 PM I'm gonna cover the major warning signs of scams. We're gonna discuss some of the common scams, but uh, it's important to note that scams are always evolving. There were always new scams and we just try to stay ahead of the curve. We will have a question and answer session, but along with this I'm gonna teach some, uh, general security practices on how to handle your checks, whether you're writing them or sending them some security using the, uh, postal service. If you are mailing items, I'm gonna give you some tips to protect your home, your vehicle, your personal property. And as I said, our goal is to educate as many as we can. To try to stop, uh, you from becoming a victim.
Amber Garrett:
And listeners can find all that information on our social media. Pre-registration is required, but they can find all of that on our website. If you believe you've been a victim of a scam, we urge you to contact the Perry Police Department at 4 7 8 9 8 8 2 8 0 0. Thanks for listening to Inside Perry. Your inside. Look at Perry's local government. Take a look at the show notes for more information about today's episode. If you like Inside Perry, we encourage you to subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you around in our amazing community where Georgia comes together.