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Law enforcement agencies warn of phone scams

 
Published Dec. 25, 2014

The man who claimed to be a Duke Energy representative told Weronika Giadla, owner of the Ritz Resort Motel on Clearwater Beach, she owed roughly $1,800.

If she didn't pay within hours, he said, the power to her business, where she was hosting 20 guests at the time, would be shut off. Panicked, Giadla rushed to her office, reviewed her latest bill and realized her account was up to date. She called Duke Energy directly, which confirmed she didn't miss any payments. Giadla called police.

"I'm very shaken," she said. "I am scared because he knows everything. He knew my name, my husband's name."

Giadla was almost a victim to one of many phone scams being investigated by detectives in Pinellas County, where departments have been inundated with complaints.

"We get calls on a daily basis," said Sheriff's Office Sgt. Frank Holloway, who oversees the economic crimes unit. "They do their homework and they're very slick."

Among the newest cases: Scammers calling people from phone numbers belonging to local police departments.

Kathy Finnerty of St. Petersburg received such a call this month. The caller ID listed the Sheriff's Office main number and Finnerty picked up. A woman told her there was a warrant for her arrest and she needed to call another number, this one with a New York area code. When Finnerty called, a man told her she owed $720 on a loan from Cash Advance America. If she didn't pay, she'd be detained.

But Finnerty had never taken out a loan from that company. She contacted the Sheriff's Office, which told her there was no such warrant.

"There are people who do this and they get away with it," she said. "Why don't (they) use their great intelligence for good?"

St. Petersburg police had a similar case when a 71-year-old man received a call from someone who identified himself as Maj. Mike Kovacsev and said he should go ahead and send a $1,500 processing fee for $600,000 winnings from the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.

The victim later left a voicemail with the real Kovacsev at the department to thank him for checking out the authenticity of the money. When the major heard the message, he quickly called the man back and told him it was a scam. The money wasn't sent.

Investigators believe scam artists can get police numbers to show up on caller IDs by downloading smartphone apps that allow them to choose the number appearing on the victim's phone.

Among other schemes: suspects, posing as the grandchildren of elderly victims, calling in the middle of the night and asking for money to pay a fine in another country; "computer technicians" who remotely access victims' computers to install viruses and then ask for money to pay for supposed repairs; callers who tell victims they owe the IRS money and need to pay immediately.

The first red flag you're talking to a phony: They want you to buy a prepaid debit card to give them the number so they can withdraw the cash.

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"They're like telemarketers," Clearwater police Det. Rob Lazzaro said. Last year, the agency launched its own hotline just for scam complaints. "They're sitting behind computers and they're making phone call after phone call after phone call. That's just their business."

Tracking down the people behind the shams is challenging. Phone numbers are often traced overseas, Lazzaro said. The money, once it has been withdrawn, is gone.

"Before you realize you're a victim of a crime," St. Petersburg Sgt. Kevin Smith said, "they've already taken all that money."

Scammers often find victim information online in public records, or even Facebook.

"We need to educate the public and just instill this sense of mistrust," Holloway said. "We just need to make sure that people are skeptical, not so trusting and they'll look for those red flags that kind of sound the alarm bells."

Contact Laura C. Morel at lmorel@tampabay.com or (727)445-4157. Follow @lauracmorel.