Photo by Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0); "Scam Reported" text added
Two Bessemer, Alabama residents lost thousands of dollars after scammers posing as FBI agents convinced them to pull cash from their bank accounts, according to the Bessemer Police Department.
How the fake FBI phone scam worked
The callers already had the victims' bank account numbers, which made the calls sound legitimate. They told victims their accounts were locked and asked them to withdraw money in person to help with an investigation. After the victims withdrew the cash, the scammers instructed them to leave with a box — either a mailing box or, in one case, a cereal box with the cereal dumped out — put the money inside, and tape it shut. Police say the victims never got their money back in this phone scam.
Why the impersonation scam is so believable
Detective Jonathan Brady of the Bessemer Police Department said the scheme works because the callers come armed with personal information. "If an FBI agent calls you, they're not going to ask you for $25,000, so you definitely don't want to hand over any money," Brady said. Carl Bates, president of the Better Business Bureau, called the fake FBI scheme one of the most common scams the Better Business Bureau encounters, and warned that getting hold of someone's personal information "is not hard these days." Residents of Bessemer, Alabama should treat any such call as a scam alert.
How to protect yourself from fraud
- The real FBI will never call you and demand cash — treat any such demand as fraud.
- Never share your driver's license or bank account numbers with an unsolicited caller.
- Shred documents containing personal information.
- If you receive one of these calls, report it to the police right away and save any phone numbers, receipts, and vehicle descriptions. Heed every police warning about impersonation scam tactics.
