Worland couple gets scam call from 'grandson'

WORLAND — A Worland couple got a call from their supposed grandson, needing to be bailed out of jail in Oregon.

Sue Decker said she answered the phone and her husband Roy got on as well. They do have a grandson in Oregon, but other things the caller said didn’t add up for Sue. The grandson supposedly had been in a drunk driving accident where a friend was killed and he was too embarrassed to call his parents. He told his “grandparents not to tell anybody.”

The original caller then passed the phone on to a bail bondsman to work out the details for the Deckers to wire them money. When Sue asked for his number so she could call back, the caller hung up. She advised Roy to call his son in Oregon, which he did, and the grandson was fine.

“I don’t know how he got our number. How he knew we had a grandson in Oregon,” Decker said.

Worland Police Capt. Zack Newton said the department receives complaints from residents about potential scams at least one to times a week.

“If anyone asks for money or asks you to do anything for money don’t do it; 99 percent of the time it will be a scam,” Newton said.

He said the majority of the scams reported in Worland are related to winning a prize and requiring the resident to send some money in order to obtain the prize. He said they have received calls about the “family member in need” type of scam but have not seen an increase.

Newton said he recommends residents put their number on the National Do Not Call List if they have not done so already. To register, residents can go to the Federal Trade Commission website, http://www.ftc.gov. According to the website, scammers have been using the Do Not Call registry to try and scam residents. According to the website, “These calls are not coming from the Registry or the Federal Trade Commission, and you should not respond to these calls.”

The FTC provides a variety of tips for people to avoid scams.

Here are some ways to avoid money-wiring scams per an article from consumer education specialist Alvara Puig of the FTC:

“Imposters. Impersonators. Fakes. Frauds. Phonies. You might call them by different names but these scam artists have one thing in common: they pretend to be someone they aren’t and tell you a bogus story to con you into wiring them money.

“The crooks will give you a pretty convincing reason to wire money. They might say you owe the IRS taxes and you’ll be arrested if you don’t pay up. Or that you won a federal grant and have to pay a processing fee to get your money. Some even tell you a loved one’s in trouble and needs your help.

“They might tell you to use a money wiring service to add funds to a 16-digit account number they give you—they say it’s your case number or account number, but it’s not. Once the transfer goes through, the money’s gone and you can’t get it back.

“Government agencies will never ask you to pay by wiring money. Neither will legitimate businesses. If someone insists you pay by wiring money, it’s a scam. Don’t do it. Instead, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint or 1-877-FTC-HELP.”