Dougherty County sheriff’s investigator warns of common scams

ALBANY — Scams and how to avoid them was the topic Friday Capt. Craig Dodd, chief investigator for the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office, in an address to members of the Exchange Club of Albany.

Dodd said most financial scams are perpetrated on senior citizens, and especially senior women who are most apt to give out too much information about themselves, are lonely or place their trust in the wrong people.

“Most of you here today aren’t senior citizens,” Dodd said, “but in 10 or 20 years you will be, and it’s mostly these people the scam artists prey upon.”

Dodd said scammers cruise Facebook pages looking for personal information such as health, vacation times, number and names of grandchildren, where they go to school and when they visit.

“A con man might call and say your granddaughter, who has just gotten a scholarship to study overseas, is in jail for DUI and you should send $3,500 to get her out,” Dodd said. “If she gets in trouble she could lose the scholarship so the grandparents send the money, and only later think to call the school.”

The Internet is rife with people anxious to scam seniors, Dodd said, and named christianmingle.com and match.com as two sites where single senior women should be careful about giving out their information.

“It’s easy to think that because it’s a Christian site, people you meet there won’t take advantage of you,” Dodd said, “But that’s not necessarily true. A lot of older women are taken advantage of because they’re lonely. The sites aren’t necessarily safe.”

Among the Internet sites Dodd advised to stay clear of are porno, sweepstakes, lottery and — amazingly — coupon and recipe sites.

“Coupon sites are some of the biggest information traps on the Internet,” Dodd said, “Especially the chat rooms. If they get your your bank account information you could become a victim of identify theft. Give them your credit card number and you’re a victim of financial transaction card fraud.”

Another common scam is the “Megamillions” con, Dodd said, where victims are notified they’ve won a huge amount of money at the lottery. The only catch is that a processing fee of $2,500 is required to receive the prize.

“Now when was the last time you won something and to pay to get it?” Dodd said.

Dodd said that most modern Internet and telephone scammers insist on payment by Green Dot card, pre-paid or rechargeable debit cards, and what Dodd calls “a wonderful tool for crime.”

According to Dodd, victims are often instructed to purchase the cards in amounts of $500 each at any local pharmacy, then provide the numbers on the front and back, thus making payment to the perpetrator for the “service” he provides.

Dodd said that law enforcement agencies have determined that many of the scams on senior citizens originate in eastern Europe or even the Russian Mafia, with the ill-gotten funds going toward the establishment of organized crime in areas including child pornography, terrorism and human trafficking.

Finally, Dodd warned the group that about 50 percent of scams or thefts perpetrated on senior citizens are by people they know, with abuse by their own grandchildren commonplace.

“I’m not saying don’t love your grandchildren,” Dodd said, “But they’ve been known to rifle through your house looking for prescriptions medications, especially painkillers they can sell on the street or take themselves.”

Dodd said grandchildren sometimes will make pictures of financial documents with bank or credit card information so they order replacement cards.

“This is a whole different age from what it used to be,” Dodd said. “Make sure your stuff is all put up.”