ORMOND BEACH -- The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is issuing a scam alert to the public after a 74-year-old Ormond Beach woman nearly got conned earlier this week out of close to $7,000, the Volusia Sheriff's Office said.
At least four similar fraud attempts have been reported this week in East Volusia, and officials want to get the word out about the scam to prevent residents from becoming victims. No money was taken in the four incidents from this week.
“Fortunately, we’ve had no reports of anyone actually falling for this scam,” said Sergeant Jay Toth, a certified crime prevention practitioner for the Sheriff’s Office. “These con artists are smooth talkers and often seek to target seniors. Knowing their methods and gimmicks is the public’s best defense in avoiding victimization.”
The current ruse making the rounds is known as the bank examiner scam. Like most scams, this ones preys upon the generosity, kindness and trusting nature of the victim. Here’s how it works: The con artist usually draws the victim into the scheme by asking for assistance in catching a dishonest teller. The con artist instructs the victim to withdraw a large amount of cash and turn it over to someone posing as a bank examiner investigating a teller suspected of stealing money from the bank. The con artists will give a variety of explanations, claiming they need to check the serial numbers on the bills, do an audit or mark the currency and deposit it to see if the dishonest teller pockets any of the money. The swindler promises to return the money once the investigation is completed, but of course, the con artist -- along with the victim’s money -- quickly disappears.
In New Smyrna Beach, a 67-year-old woman reported receiving a suspicious call from a man who asked her to withdraw $6,800 from the bank and meet him at a local store. The victim didn’t withdraw the money and instead called the police department.
On Wednesday, a 79-year-old woman who lives near Ormond Beach told Sheriff’s deputies that she had received a call earlier in the week from someone claiming to be a bank auditor investigating a fraud involving the victim’s account. The scam attempt didn’t reach the point where the victim was asked to withdraw money from the bank. And the Port Orange Police Department took a similar report on Wednesday.
However, on Tuesday, a 74-year-old woman who also lives near Ormond Beach withdrew $6,800 from her account after receiving a call from a man who said he was a bank auditor and needed the victim’s help investigating a dishonest teller who supposedly had stolen money from the woman’s account. The woman agreed to help and withdrew the money from her bank and then drove to an agreed-upon meeting spot, but left about 90 minutes later when the suspect failed to show up. She later contacted her bank, realized the call was a scam and notified the Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone who receives a call like this should know it’s a scam because banks don’t ask customers to use their money in an investigation, warns Sergeant Toth.
“Banks don’t operate like that,” Toth explained. “Anyone who receives one of these calls should hang up the phone and then report the incident to their nearest law enforcement agency. We need as much information as possible so that we can get to the bottom of this, find the person or persons responsible for these calls and ensure that our citizens don’t become victims.”