Phone scam strikes again

BUTTE — An 87-year old Butte man was the latest victim of a recurring phone scam involving law enforcement and the court system.

The man said he received a call from a person who he thought was his granddaughter. He said the person on the phone sounded like her and even had the same voice mannerisms. The man said his "granddaughter" told him she had been in an accident and was at the police station where her cell phone was confiscated. He said the "granddaughter" told him that she was going to be sued beyond what her auto insurance would cover.

The man followed instructions and obtained four $1,000 gift cards from a large retail outlet, called back and released the card numbers to the person on the other end of the phone. He said he was eventually able to contact his real granddaughter who resides in Eagle River and discovered the fleece. He did contact Alaska State Troopers (AST), but after the fact.

"Unfortunately, this keeps happening. We try to warn people as much as possible through our daily dispatches and Facebook," said AST spokesperson Megan Peters. "The more we can raise awareness the better."

Peters said one of the more common scams plays out like the following.

An individual, usually male, calls and identifies themselves as a trooper using various names and ranks. The caller advises people that they, or one of their family members, have active warrants and they must pay their bail to him or face arrest and possible additional fines. The caller explains they can pay him with green dot cards or prepaid credit cards to take care of the warrants. He/she may also provide call back numbers which usually go directly to an answering machine if they are called.

Peters said the scam has taken place in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, the Kenai Peninsula and now, apparently in the Mat-Su. Peters said the public needs to be aware that will not ask for payment over the phone or offer to negotiate for reduced payment in lieu of arrest. She encouraged the public to check the AST active warrant website--http://dps.alaska.gov/AST/warrants/ should they think a warrant has been issued.

Individuals can also look up the phone number of their local law enforcement agency to try and verify if a warrant is in existence and obtain information on how to correctly deal with the situation. AST urges the public to know that law enforcement agency will not collect funds during a phone call or ask that payment be made using pre-paid credit cards or cards that are obtained from stores.

AST urges anyone believing they have been a victim of a scam to contact their local law enforcement agency.