[Vision2020] Another fraud

[Jennifer McFarland]

Visionaries,

Greetings from the Latah County Sheriff's Office!  Over the past few days,
we've received a few calls from people who have been contacted over the
telephone by someone claiming to be refunding Federal tax money or endowing
the called party with a Federal grant.  The callers are often described as
having an "east Indian" or "heavy foreign" accent.  The callers ask for your
bank information, etc., in order to deposit the money directly for you.
When victims asked the caller for call-back information, the caller gave a
1-800 number (which I called today only to receive a "fast busy" signal),
and addresses in Florida, Utah, and other states (the zip codes are either
not real or do not correspond to the cities they named).  We have referred
these reports to the State's Attorney General's office.

In fact, last night, while in the bathtub, I, too, was contacted by one of
these people (it was the highlight of my night until I realized I could
probably be a kicker for either FSU or Penn State, but I digress).  The
woman seemed incensed that I was not interesting in reclaiming my
hard-earned money.  I told her not to call my phone number again and that
doing so would be perceived as harassment; the line then went dead.
Repeated unwanted phone calls can be considered "Disturbing the peace by
repeated calls" per Idaho Code 18-6710.  I found the call itself rather
annoying since I had registered my phone number on the "do not call"
registry.  However, I have found that when you tell telemarketers not to
call again and that doing so will be perceived as harassment, the calls are
usually curtailed (at least by the particular telemarketing agency).  We
shall see if it deters this particular calling group.    

At any rate, again, I caution you not to give your banking information to
unknown and not trusted folk.  If you think you have been contacted by a
scammer, contact your local law enforcement agency or the State Attorney
General's office.

State of Idaho
Office of Attorney General
700 W. Jefferson Street
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, Idaho 83720-0010
Phone (208) 334-2400
Fax (208) 334-2530 

Email: no_call_list at ag.idaho.gov

--Jennie


PIO Jennifer L. McFarland
Latah County Sheriff's Office
Public Information Officer
PO Box 8068
Moscow, Idaho 83843
(208) 882-2216
Fax (208) 883-2281

Truth is the summit of being; justice is the application of it to affairs.
***Ralph Waldo Emerson