The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has issued a warning about a wave of scams primarily targeting older residents. The agency says the scams have already created significant financial losses for the victims.
In the most recent cases, victims have been contacted by phone or email regarding a close friend or family member who is purportedly in some type of medical or legal trouble and requires financial assistance, the Sheriff’s Office said in an April 10 news release.
“These scammers pose as attorneys, bail bondsmen and other generally trustworthy people,” the release said. “They offer alternative phone numbers and other associates for victims to contact to ‘corroborate’ their story.”
The scammers often possess some type of personal information about their victim and the person they are purporting to represent or assist, according to the release. In some cases, they have posed as the person in need of the victim’s assistance, it said, lending credibility to their claim and lowering the guard of potential victims.
In some recent cases, the scammers have arranged to meet their victims in person, the office said, either at their home or in some public place, to complete the transaction.
“The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office wishes to remind you that no credible institution — law enforcement, legal, financial or medical — will demand cash transactions or meet under these types of circumstances,” the agency said.
Anyone with questions about the credibility of a potential scammer is encouraged to take extra steps to verify their identity by seeking in-person advice from their financial institution, calling the purported victim who is alleged to be in need of help via the usual means of communication — not a number provided by the scammer — and calling local law enforcement for guidance, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Have a comment or news tip? Email J. Craig Anderson at craig@harpswellanchor.org.
