Eighty-six-year-old Bob Fox's land line telephone rang Monday morning. When he answered, the voice on the other end was that of a distressed young woman claiming to be his granddaughter, who currently lives in the northern part of the state.
After an emotional interaction with the caller and a lofty request for emergency financial assistance, Fox hung up and phoned nearby relatives to verify the young woman's true whereabouts. Within minutes, Fox's family determined he was in the midst of a scam.
"She said 'I've had a bad cold, it's almost pneumonia,'" Fox, a Wayne County resident, said. "My neighbor was taking me to the doctor and on the way, we had a wreck. When the patrolman was examining the car, there was a lot of dope in the trunk and a gun, a pistol, and so they arrested us.'"
Fox said the woman told him multiple times she was only allowed one telephone call, and emphasized the importance of not telling the rest of the family about her predicament. When Fox asked how much money she needed, a man posing as a police officer came to the phone.
"He said his name was Sergeant Charles Burrs, it was a fake name," Fox said. "I asked how to get her home and he said she has to make bond. He mentioned (an amount) and asked what I could do. I told him (an amount) and said I could probably scrape that up."
The man told Fox to go to the bank and tell the bankers he needed the cash for a marriage ceremony. The man emphasized multiple times not to mention the funds were for bail. Fox said the man also gave specific instructions to place the money in a manila envelope prior to sending it.
The man, still posing as an officer, then provided Fox with a telephone number, which had a Canadian area code and instructed Fox to call him back for further instruction after he acquired the funds.
"I called my niece and I told her what was going on," Fox said. "She said, 'I think it's a scam,' and that's when I began to wake up."
Soon after speaking with his niece, Fox called his granddaughter's phone number and she answered the phone at her home in Fulton, Mo.
Fox said his brother came to his house and answered when the telephone rang again. His brother played along before telling the scammer he knew it wasn't real. Fox said prior to ending the phone call, the voice threatened the men, who then reported the occurrence to the Wayne County Sheriff's Dept.
Reports of similar interactions have occurred throughout the state, always with the same elements, including a frantic relative, usually a child or grandchild, in some type of legal trouble, and an immediate need for cash.
According to a report published by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), it is common for scammers to have ready excuses for why their voices aren't recognizable. In Fox's case, it was because of a cold. In another reported case, the AARP stated, it was because one victims's "grandson" said he had his nose broken in a fight.
Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs said if a questionable situation occurs on the telephone, to remain calm and verify the caller's identity.
"That's what the scammers count on, you not verifying the validity of the call," Dobbs said.
Asking the caller to confirm a current address, creating a family "safe word" or password, or asking a personal question only a relative would know are reliable ways to verify, the AARP stated.
Dobbs said the presence of a third-party posing as a law enforcement officer is, also, a common element of the scam.
"Nobody in law enforcement minds if you verify who they are by hanging up, getting the real number to the agency and calling back," said Dobbs, who added that older people are predominantly targeted because the scammer knows their story will likely illicit a strong emotional reaction.
Dobbs said in most instances, the phone calls originate outside of the United States. He said the scammers will use a spoof phone number so victims and law enforcement agencies are not able to determine their location or identities.
"If you can't verify, the best thing to do is hang up," Dobbs said. "The scammers are like telemarketers. They have an answer for everything."