LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Henderson Police Department is warning the public and seniors how scammers use pressure tactics to prey on victims — and ultimately steal their money and personal information.
Over a span of 10 months, Henderson police investigators recovered more than $6 million in funds stolen from victims using digital trails, warrants and subpoenas.
Acting Captain Jim Dunlap of the Henderson Police Investigative Services Division explains the various schemes to give victims a sense of urgency.
“They can threaten warrants going to be issued for their arrest. They can be threatened that a loved one may be harmed if they don’t respond quickly. They’ll also respond and say all of your money is going to be seized or taken away because somebody’s taken over your account– when in fact they’re the ones that have taken over your account,” said Acting Captain Jim Dunlap of the Henderson Police Investigative Services Division.
Dunlap tells FOX5 that plenty of other cases go unreported: sometimes, seniors even hand over their life savings.
MORE: Henderson police launch fraud prevention campaign for seniors
“We actually did a sting operation where we actually caught the courier picking up the package: he thought he was picking $76,000 in cash,” said Dunlap. The victim in that case thought they were being prosecuted by the DEA, Dunlap said.
“Some of that $6 million that we were able to recover was due to the quick response from a victim saying, ‘I got this money, but I didn’t think it was right, so I called the police,’” Dunlap said.
Dunlap explains what victims should do once they get a threatening phone call, text or e-mail.
“If you feel like you’re being pushed or rushed into something, stop, take a breath, hang up the phone, and call the police,” he said.
There are ways to keep scammers at bay.
Never click on links or open strange e-mails; scammers can infiltrate your device and steal your personal information. Changing your passwords regularly is also key to protecting your digital devices.
Never pick up phone calls from strange numbers.
“They’ll call relentlessly and put a sense of urgency on the victim so that they need to respond,” Dunlap said, explaining the tactics from “cell phone farms” operated by scammers.
For more information from HPD on fraud and identity theft prevention, click here: Stop Fraud
Seniors and caregivers can report criminal activity to Henderson Police at (702) 267-4750.
You can also visit the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.
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