New phone scam uses Albany-area phone numbers

ALBANY — Officials with the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office are warning citizens of a new phone scam using Albany-area phone numbers with callers claiming to be from the Public Defenders Office.

Officers say sophisticated phone banks operating inside local jails and prisons could be involved.

“We are calling it the public defender scam,” explained Captain Craig Dodd with the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s a new twist on an old scam where the caller claims to be a bail bondsman. Now they say they are with the Public Defender’s Office. They say a family member is in jail and needs money right away. It used to be the money was needed to bail the person out of jail, but the new scammer will say the money is needed to get the person in front of the right judge or to get the bond set.”

The problem has become so severe that the Sheriff’s Office held a news conference on Tuesday to warn the community.

“We are getting 10 to 20 calls a week — mostly from senior citizens,” Dodd said. “I tell them if you do not recognize a number, do not answer the phone.”

Dodd said scammers are using Facebook and other social media sites to glean information and then using the information to trick potential victims into sending them money.

“Too often, people use Facebook to tell their life story, and these criminals are getting all kinds of information,” Dodd said. “The scammers can go right through a friends list or read the public posts, and they will know right where someone is. Then they will call nana or grandma and say little Frankie is in trouble. They might say he just got a DUI and he is in jail, and he will lose his college scholarship if you don’t send some money right away. Even if the person on the caller side of the line doesn’t sound like ‘little Frankie,’ too many family members are too often falling for the scam.”

The public defender spoof seems to be working, Dodd said.

“A person from Jacksonville (Fla.) recently sent $5,000, and a second one sent $5,000 then got another call asking for $2,500 more,” he said. “I guess the scammers thought if they were a sucker for it once, they would be a sucker for it twice. What gets me is they claim to be a public defender, when the public defender is a court-appointed attorney provided at no cost by the state for anyone who can’t afford to hire a lawyer. If two people sent them money, chances are 100 more did not send in the money because they didn’t have it or they knew it was a scam.”

According to Dodd, this particular scam has been escalating over the past three or four months, with victims throughout south Georgia and north Florida.

“They say the public defender is from Albany, and the confusing part is the caller is using an Albany number,” he noted.

Because a local phone number is being used, Dodd said he believes phone banks set up in area jails or prisons may be involved.

“We know that sacks of cellphones are getting dropped off and making their way to the inmates,” the sheriff’s office captain said. “They are using drones or tossing the phones over the fence. In one prison near Albany, a deflated football was filled with phones and thrown onto the prison yard.”

Dodd said he believes inmates are working call center shifts in cell blocks, and many of the phone banks are operated by thugs or prison system gangs.

“If I owe you money for drugs or a gambling debt or whatever, I might have to work in that call center in order to pay back my debt,” Dodd said.

Although prison guards frequently raid the phone banks, it takes only a short time for the call centers to be back in operation.

“(Jailers) will have a raid and confiscate all of the cellphones,” Dodd said. “But more cellphones will get in, and the phone center is back in operation in two or three days.”

Legislation prevents officials from banning cellphones behind bars.

“Georgia has been battling this on many levels,” Dodd said. “The state tried to put in scramblers to try and block the cellphones going in and out of the prisons, but according to the FCC, you can’t block cellphones in the prisons.”

Another scam that “runs rampant” from April through June is an IRS scam, Dodd said at the news conference. The IRS scam involves a caller claiming to be with the Internal Revenue Service.

“The caller will always say money is needed right away to pay off a tax debt,” he said.

According to Dodd, the caller will usually threaten with a pending arrest or repossession of property if the debt isn’t paid. The caller will often ask for credit card and banking information over the phone.

“This scam returns every year at tax time,” he said. “It has gone rampant, and it targets senior citizens, especially widows. You have to remember that years ago, the IRS was like the wolf at the door. Nowadays a lot of people will help combat the IRS, but back then people were in fear that the IRS could take everything. Plus men generally handled all the finances so these widows might not know if money was owed to the IRS or not.

“These scammers will scan the obituaries or search on the internet to find their victims. They make lists and then make the calls. They are cold and heartless. Don’t send them money. The real IRS will never call on the phone. If there is a problem, they will send out a letter. Even then, don’t just automatically call the number on the letter or even on the computer. Instead, look the number to the IRS up in your phone book or go to the local IRS office.”

Another scam that citizens should be wary of involves requests for donations to Israel. Dodd that money is often being funnelled into terrorist organizations.

“Make sure you know exactly where your money is going,” he warned.

Citizens should, Dodd said, be leery about giving out any kind of banking or credit card information over the telephone.

“You can give out your credit card number from the front and then the security code on the back, and the person on the end of the line is repeating it because there is someone right beside them typing your information into their system,” he said. “The next thing you know, they have your information and they can wipe out your card.

“Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the world. In the past 10 years, it has quadrupled.”

Law enforcement officials say there is nothing to be embarrassed about if you or anyone you know has fallen victim to a scam. Anyone receiving suspicious phone calls or suspecting they are being scammed should notify law enforcement immediately.