Blog: KPD News & Alerts

KPD Warns of Recent Family Emergency Scam

The KPD has received several recent scam reports where a person pretending to be an attorney is calling individuals and stating that their loved one has been involved in a crash. The scammer further claims that the victim’s loved one has been arrested as a result of the crash and that the victim will need to pay bail money. Over the past week, at least two people have fallen victim to this scam and provided money to the scammers.

This is another example of a commonly-deployed tactic used by scammers, who pretend to be an authority figure, pose a threat to the happiness and well-being of the victim and force that victim to take immediate action to deal with the threat, typically by asking for money or other personal information. These scams play off of people’s emotions and the expectation that they will act quickly to help their family and friends.

Simply put, this is not the process if your loved one is involved in a crash and arrested as a result of it. An attorney will not call you to request or demand bail money. If your loved one is arrested, bail money would never be paid to an attorney. Further, that bail money would not be paid in the form of pre-paid cards or cryptocurrency.

As always, if you receive a call from an unknown or unverified source, do not provide your personal or financial information, and never provide any money without first verifying the legitimacy of the caller. Resist the pressure to send money immediately, hang up and contact the family member who was allegedly involved or someone else in the family or circle of friends. Pay close attention to possible red flags, which could include attempts by the scammer to keep you on the phone and demand quick action. Trust your instincts – if it feels suspicious, it probably is.

If you fall victim to one of these scams, that should be reported to your local police department and the Federal Trade Commission. A report can be filed with the Knoxville Police Department 24/7 by calling 865-215-7268, while a report can be submitted to the FTC here.

Posted by serland On 23 June, 2021 at 11:41 AM