Columbia resident loses thousands in wire fraud scam

Police think this particular case could be the sign of a new trend.

By Sean Leahy

Published Feb. 3, 2009

An elderly Columbia resident was scammed out of thousands of dollars in a wire fraud case involving callers claiming to be Canadian authorities.

The victim, a man in his 80s, was initially contacted Jan. 23 by someone claiming to a bondsman and was told his son required bond money after getting in trouble in Toronto, according to a Columbia Police Department news release.

After he sent money, the victim was contacted again, this time by someone claiming to be a Toronto police officer. The victim was told more money was needed, so he wired more funds, the release stated.

CPD Sgt. Lloyd Simons said the victim, concerned about his son, contacted family members and eventually discovered his son was not in police custody after all.

The callers were able to identify the victim's son by name, and because of that, Simons said they might have looked up information about the victim on the Internet and targeted him before the crime.

This is the only case of this type of fraud reported in Columbia, the release stated.

Even though this type of fraud is new to Columbia, Simons said the incident might be the start of a new trend.

"This was a first that this particular angle was used in Columbia," Simons said. "But this type of fraud is the wave of the future."

Phone records and the help of international agencies will be used in trying to solve the case, Simons said.

Although in this case the victim lost thousands of dollars, Simons said there are ways people can protect themselves from this type of fraud.

"If you are suspicious of someone calling you, get information from them," Simons said. "It never hurts to double-check the information someone gives you."

Also, in this case, people claiming to be authorities contacted the victim. Simons said it is standard procedure to have the person in custody make the call for assistance on his or her own.

Anyone contacted by an officer claiming to work for a police department who is requesting money should be suspicious. The public can always contact to the officer's law enforcement agency to confirm the calling officer's identity, the news release stated.

"Only in special occasions will an officer make that type of call," Simons said.