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If caller asks for cash, hang upDec 28, 2012 (Reading Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- An elderly Kutztown woman recently received a phone call from someone identifying herself as a Florida lawyer and claiming to have a cashier's check for the woman. The caller asked the woman to send some cash so the caller could process the check for $5,000 and send it to her in Kutztown. Wendy Kerschner, general manager of Comfort Keepers, an assisted-living service, was in the home of the elderly woman, who is a client of hers, and heard the conversation. "At that point, one of the adult children of the woman got on the phone and said 'I can't believe you are trying to do this to my mother,' " Kerschner said. In a scam like this, the victim is asked to send cash to claim a prize or other cash. The problem: The pot of gold at the end of this rainbow doesn't exist. The victim's daughter, who asked that her name not be used, said she believes her mother is on some kind of "sucker" list because she is constantly getting phone calls from people trying to give her prizes, book her on cruises and even sell her magazines. The victim is legally blind and needs a walker to get around. "When I asked her why, she said the person on the phone was so nice she couldn't refuse," the daughter said, adding that her mother does not have dementia or other mental issues. "She's actually pretty sharp," she said. "We finally had to cancel her credit cards." The victim also is on the state "Do Not Call" list, but criminals who place random calls to potential victims refer to it as the "Do Not Care" list, investigators said. Under state and federal laws, it is illegal for someone to make an unsolicited call to your home or cellphone to sell a service or product if you haven't done business with them in the past year. "So, if someone is breaking the law by calling you in the first place, why on earth would you then want to do business with them " said Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Frederiksen said innovations in digital technology have made it much easier for crooks to use robocalling devices, caller ID spoofing and other techniques to run their scams. "Compared to last year, the numbers of complaints to the Do Not Call Registry have more than doubled from about 4,800 last year to 11,000 this year," he said. Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said thieves, con men and scammers are using technology to convince people into believing they are a trusted entity. The goal is to get the victim to turn over their personal information, credit card and bank information or send cash to a total stranger over the phone. "The average person, me included, has no idea what the scammers are capable of when it comes to masking their illegal schemes so they look completely legitimate," Adams said. "There are a lot of smart people out there who understand ways to get around the law, especially when it comes to technology. "We don't have the appropriate security measures in place to date to prevent this. We're seeing the websites of big companies, and even the federal government, compromised." Contact Dan Kelly: 610-371-5040 or [email protected]. ___ (c)2012 the Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.) Visit the Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.) at readingeagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |