The Seneca County Sheriff’s Office is warning of a new phone scam.
They say a woman reported receiving a call Wednesday afternoon from someone who sounded exactly like her daughter while at work in Romulus. The caller claimed she had been in an accident. She even mentioned her boyfriend’s name but advised the woman not to tell him as she wanted to do so herself.
A man then took over and claimed to be police officer Daniel Harris who told the woman her daughter had been arrested for rear ending a pregnant woman while texting and driving. He then said bail was $9,500 dollars.
When the woman said she couldn’t pay that much money, the phony cop said a public defender could get the bail lowered and told the potential victim to call back when she knew how much she could pay.
The woman then called the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office where the call was confirmed to be a scam.
The office lists several red flags that should alert potential victims they are being scammed.
- The charges reported were not eligible for bail under New York State’s Bail Reform.
- The number was from a 646 area code which is a Manhattan NY area code.
- It is highly irregular for a police officer to be negotiating bail.
- The caller did not want her to call the boyfriend—(the boyfriend could have confirmed that the woman’s daughter was okay and not involved in the accident.
Law enforcement add that these types of scams aren’t expected to go away since computers are being able to mimic human voices with increased accuracy.
