Don’t be duped by scam threatening to re-arrest jailed family member if you don’t send money
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IDAHO FALLS – A scam targeting family members of inmates has seen an uptick in recent months.
Danielle Kingston, owner of A+ Idaho Bail Bonds, a company providing bail bonding services in eastern Idaho since 2007, tells EastIdahoNews.com scammers posing as law enforcement officers call family members and threaten to put their loved one back in jail if they don’t receive additional money.
“They’ll say, ‘We’re going to require an ankle monitor. The fee is $250. If we don’t receive it, we’re going to re-arrest them,'” Kingston says.
In other cases, Kingston says the scammers claim they’re with a bail bond company and ask the family to send more money to get their loved one released from jail.
Kingston isn’t sure how the scammers are getting family members’ contact information, but she says they seem to be familiar with jail records and are using inmate roster lists from local jails, which are publicly available.
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Kingston says they’ve recently heard from four individuals who are victims of this scam.
“The scammers know information about the defendants somehow. I don’t know if they’re receiving information — if it’s an inside thing. I am not sure where they’re obtaining this information,” says Kingston.
While this scam isn’t new, Kingston says she seen an increase in the number of cases in the last year, and the perpetrators are more forceful with victims.
“They’ve become a little more knowledgeable about what’s going on within the industry,” Kingston explains. “Within the last six months, especially, they’ve fine-tuned their scam and people are being taken advantage of.”
Kingston says she’s filed a report with local law enforcement and wants to spread the word about it. She’s urging the public to be vigilant, don’t take anything at face value and verify the information with authorities.
“Make sure that you contact your bondsman, agent or whoever posted your bond. Don’t just accept (what they’re saying). Do your homework,” she says.
Sgt. Bryan Lovell with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office offers similar advice. Anyone who receives a call like this should get names and phone numbers and try to call back to avoid becoming a victim.
“Call and verify what’s going on. Call the jail facility, call the law enforcement entity, the courts, or whoever it is that’s talking to them,” Lovell says. “Air on the side of caution and double-check those things before you dive too far into a problem.”
If you’ve been a victim of this or any other scam, Lovell encourages you to report it to the sheriff’s office at (208) 529-1200, as well as the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Lovell also points people to the Idaho Sheriff Connect app, which provides information about other scams and resources that are available.