Southwest Va. residents warned of phone scam

By: SWVA Staff |
Published: January 25, 2012

From staff reports

State police are warning local residents to watch out for scammers who call and pretend to be vacationing family members in need of emergency cash.

According to Sgt. M.T. Conroy, the area division has received at least three recent reports of residents getting the calls.

Pretending to be family members, the callers try and convince the residents that they’ve had an emergency – getting arrested, for instance – in a foreign country and need money wired immediately.

Scammers often pick a common name and tell the person on the other end of the line that they need help. Conroy said the technique allows them to fish for actual names if the person says he doesn’t have, for example, a nephew by that name but does have one named this.

“They can be very persuasive,” he said.

In at least one instance locally, someone actually sent money to a scammer, he said.

“The wiring should be a red flag,” the sergeant said.

Money sent that way is hard to track and recover, he added.

Scammers often prey on older residents and Conroy urged families to talk about ways to stop the crime, including limiting access to bank accounts and using an answering machine to screen calls.

“The biggest piece of advice is to get rid of the secrecy,” he said.

Anyone receiving such calls can call the Virginia State Police at 228-3131.