Her daughter had been in a car accident, and the situation was much worse than a simple fender bender. At least, that’s what the mother was led to believe.
“All I knew is that she was potentially in a serious amount of trouble,” the mother said.
The Arlington woman, who requested anonymity, nearly fell victim to an impostor scheme. No money exchanged hands, but the emotional impact was devastating, she said.
It started with a phone call. Somebody claiming to be her daughter alleged she was being held by the police after striking a pregnant woman. She herself had a broken nose, according to the caller whose caller ID claimed to be from Woodbridge.
“This person on the phone had the exact mannerisms that my daughter has,” the mother said. “She said my name the same way that she usually does. She apologized profusely like she normally would.”
The caller claimed that bail was set at $180,000, before passing the phone to a supposed police officer. Soon after, the mother received a call from a Texas phone number, from somebody claiming to be an attorney.
That’s when the red flags started getting raised.
The alleged attorney answered the mother’s questions, providing information about the next steps. But when her husband also followed up, he was told that the daughter had been drinking — key information that had not yet been disclosed.
The husband followed up: what kind of car is it? The caller didn’t know the model.
Where is the courthouse? In Georgia, the caller said.
It was at that point the couple knew they had been targeted for a scam. Their actual daughter was quickly located and determined to be safe at school — definitely not a criminal suspect after a car accident.
“I’ve actually never fallen for a scam before,” the mother said, “but it was truly so believable to me.”
While there were aspects of this attempted fraud that seemingly went beyond the norm, phone-based fraud schemes are by no means unique here in Arlington.
More than 700 instances of fraud activity have been reported to Arlington County police so far this year, according to a police spokesperson.
ACPD encourages residents to be vigilant when receiving unsolicited phone calls, texts or emails, and to trust your instincts if something does not sound right. If you believe you are the victim of a fraud or attempted fraud, you can file an online report with the police department.
Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash
