Eastern Connecticut 'Bond Money' Scam Leads To Statewide Warning

CONNECTICUT — A scheme that originated in eastern Connecticut has turned into a statewide warning by state police about the latest circulating scam.

State police were alerted to the scam in January when an elderly eastern Connecticut couple was ripped off to the tune of more than $10,000, according to an incident report.

The couple told state police about a telephone call from someone claiming to be a representative from a "state agency," according to an incident report.

Using the correct first and last name of one of the victims' relatives, the person explained that the relative was being held in custody at a location more than an hour away following a motor vehicle accident. The couple was told the relative needed "bond money" in order to have the relative released from custody, state police said.

Over the course of additional calls, a plan was made to have the victims deliver the bond money through a courier service arranged for by the scammers, state police said. The victims gathered up the specified amount of money and were told by the scammers to not discuss the matter with anyone, "in the interest of safety," and, a short time later, a "courier" arrived at the victims' residence, took the bond money, and departed, state police said.

About 30 minutes later, the actual relative arrived at the victims' residence and, after realizing that they had been scammed, the victims immediately called state police, according to an incident report. Troopers and detectives were able to mobilize quickly and recovered a portion of the victims' money, but are still working to identify the individuals responsible for the telephone scam, a report indicates.

Said state police, "Scams such as these can happen to anyone, but often target senior citizens. If you receive a phone call from an unfamiliar person who is telling you that a relative is in custody, take steps to contact that relative directly and/or other members of their immediate family who can help you determine if you are being targeted by scammers. If you have been instructed to not speak with anyone about a transfer of cash or other items of monetary value, consider it to be a warning sign that this may not be a legitimate, legal request."

State police continued, "Never give out your banking information, credit card numbers, your social security number, medical insurance information, or other personal identifying information without first confirming that the request is legitimate. This can be done by making a direct call to the official telephone number of the banking institution, medical provider or government agency to confirm that they are the true source of the request. Legitimate government agencies will not request that fees, fines or bail bonds be paid with gift cards, cryptocurrency — like Bitcoin) — or through an ATM machine or by wire-transfer.

"A loss of thousands of dollars can be devastating for members of our community with limited resources. If you have loved ones at risk of being targeted, please emphasize to them the importance of confirming requests for money or personal information with banks and/or government agencies to reduce the risk of them being victimized by scammers.

"Please contact law enforcement as soon as possible if you discover that you have become the victim of a scam."