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  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 9, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Oklahoma,   

    The jury duty scam is becoming more sophisticated 

    The jury duty scam is becoming more sophisticated

    By Greg Collier

    As we have previously mentioned, the jury duty scam is probably one of the most prevalent scams going on out there today. As you may know, scammers will call their victims posing as local or federal authorities. The scammers then tell their victims that they missed jury duty and there’s a warrant out for the victim’s arrest. Then the scammers ask the victim for money, so the victim can avoid arrest. Like most scams, they’ll ask for payment in virtually untraceable ways like money transfers, gift cards, and cryptocurrency.

    The first tip off that this may be a scam is the fact that the scammers are calling you. If you actually missed jury duty, you would receive a summons in the mail from whatever court you were supposed to be reporting to. It seems that enough people have caught on to the jury duty scam that the scammers are changing their tactics, and it begins with a letter in the mail.

    According to law enforcement in the state of Oklahoma, residents have been receiving official looking documents in the mail telling residents that they’ve missed jury duty. However, the letters are being followed up with phone calls to the residents, with the scammers once again posing as law enforcement and threatening arrest. They’re then telling the residents that they need to pay a fine right then and there over the phone.

    The phone call is the tell because law enforcement will never call you to threaten you with arrest, and court fines are not paid over the phone.

    If you receive one of these letters or a letter like this, call the agency or office in claims to be from. Don’t use any phone number that may be listed on the documentation. Those could lead you directly to the scammers. Instead, get the phone number from the agency’s or office’s website. It should be listed on their ‘contact us’ section.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 4, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Oklahoma,   

    Pair arrested for string of grandparent scams 

    By Greg Collier

    When the grandparent scam first became prevalent, the scammers were satisfied with just getting their victims to pay through gift cards or money transfers. Then the scammers started using unwitting ride-share drivers as couriers to pick up payments directly from the victims. Then the scammers themselves did away with all the middle men and started collecting the payments on their own. However, that presents its own problem as it allows police to arrest these scammers at the victim’s home, as one pair of alleged scammers recently found out.

    Quickly, just for context, the grandparent scam is when a scammer calls an elderly victim and tells them that one of their grandchildren is in jail and needs money for bond. In reality, the grandchild is fine and is unaware of what’s being done in their name.

    A pair of alleged grandparent scammers from Georgia were recently arrested in Oklahoma. According to police, the pair had targeted several elderly victims in their scheme. They probably would have more victims if not for the intervention of a bank employee. The scammers had targeted an elderly man and told him his nephew was in jail. They also told the man that after he got the money, he needed to wait for a bondsman to come collect the money. The man went to his bank to withdraw $15,000, but the bank was concerned the man may be a victim of a scam. The bank asked the man a few questions and determined he was being scammed and called police. Police arrested the ‘bondsman’ who turned out to be the scammer himself. His cohort who claimed to be a ‘currency trader’ to police was also arrested as part of the plot.

    The fact that scammers are showing up at the doors of elderly victims is quite concerning, especially if the victim lives alone. It never hurts to verify the story that someone on the phone is claiming. If you think your relative may be in jail, they won’t get in any further trouble if you hang up and verify the story being given to you. Also keep in mind that bail bondsmen don’t come to you. You have to go to them if you need to post bond for someone.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on April 19, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , Johnny Barker, Kevin Garcia-Boettler, , , Oklahoma,   

    Arrests made in the craigslist disappearance of Okla. men 

    Arrests made in the craigslist disappearance of Okla. men

    There’s been an update to yesterday’s story about the disappearance of two men from Moore, Oklahoma, who went missing after an alleged craigslist transaction. Sadly, the bodies of 21-year-olds Alize Smith and Jarron Moreland were found in a pond with both men having been shot to death. Three suspects have been arrested and charged in their murders, and they are 22-year-old Kevin Garcia-Boettler, 43-year-old Johnny Barker, and the 16-year-old brother of Garcia-Boettler.

    According to police, Moreland and Smith were said to be selling a gun on craigslist and the trio of suspects were meeting with the two men to purchase the gun. Once Moreland and Smith approached the suspects’ van, one of the suspects claims they heard a gun being cocked by one of the victims. This resulted in one of the suspects firing on the two men, killing them both. Tragically, this could have all been prevented.

    Craigslist’s terms of service forbids firearms from being sold or traded on their site, yet it happens all the time. The problem with craigslist is the usual one as they hardly ever do any kind of moderation on their site for any kind of illegal items or sales. Instead, they rely on their users to flag any kind of inappropriate ad, the same users who are posting the illegal ads to begin with. This is akin to the inmates running the asylum. Craigslist has the ability to screen for ads like this as they have done so in the past with unlocked iPhones when that was still illegal. Yet they allow guns to change hands without even batting an eye.

     

  • Geebo 9:01 am on April 18, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , Oklahoma   

    Two men missing after possible craigslist abduction 

    Two men missing after possible craigslist abduction

    Over this past weekend, two Oklahoma families are experiencing their worst nightmares after members of their families disappeared during what was believed to be a craigslist transaction. 21-year-olds Alize Smith and Jarron Moreland were reportedly abducted from a supermarket parking lot in Moore, Oklahoma, by two men in a white van. Shots were also said to have been fired during the abduction and a bloody gun was found at the scene.

    This was no midnight meeting either as the two men met their purported abductors at 6:00 PM on a Saturday in a busy parking lot. This is the definition of a well-lit public place during the day. Sadly, these precautions weren’t enough as their captors committed a brazen daylight attack against the two victims. Police are looking to the public for help in finding the two victims.

    Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Smith and Moreland is asked to call the Moore Police Department at (405)793-5171.

    As we have stated in the past, we believe the safest place to conduct any kind of classifieds transaction is at your local police department as many stations across the country are now encouraging citizens to use their locations to conduct business safely. I understand there are segments of the population who don’t trust police and many have good reason to be fearful. However, it may be worth putting those fears aside in order to be able to go home to your family.

    Our thoughts go out to the families of Mr. Smith and Mr. Moreland, and we are hoping for their safe return.

     

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