DRAPER, Utah, Dec. 1, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Draper Police Department is warning the public about a phone scam in which the caller claims to be from a police department and says the victim has a family member in jail who needs to be bailed out.
According to a news release from Sgt. Chad Carpenter, Draper police recently contacted a resident who reported they had received a call from a suspect indicating they were from a police department. The suspect told the victim their grandson had recently been arrested and the victim needed to send $9,000 cash bail to get their grandson out of jail.
The victim gathered the money and was in the process of having it sent to the suspect via Fedex, the release states. Draper Police were able to stop the Fedex shipment and recover the money for the victim.
The police are advising the best way to handle a similar call and avoid becoming a victim:
- Don’t give any personal information, banking information, or agree to send money. Police departments don’t call people requesting cash bail to let someone out of jail.
- Before you do anything, call your family to confirm if your loved one has been arrested or has been injured.
- Call your local police department with any questions or concerns you may have about phone calls and scams similar to this.
