The Easton Police Department is warning residents about scam phone calls, following an incident involving an Easton resident that resulted in the victim allegedly being scammed out of $6,000.
According to police, the victim on the morning of March 7 received a call from someone claiming to be their friend. The friend said they had been involved in an accident and were in jail in Bridgeport and needed bail money, then turned the phone over to a person who the victim thought was a public defender. The victim was told that $8,000 was needed to get their friend out of jail.
After the victim told the public defender that they could only produce $6,000, the public defender promised to speak to the judge and try to get the bail reduced. After many phone calls between the public defender and the victim, the public defender claimed the bail had been reduced to $6,000, and if the victim placed the money in a sealed envelope a courier would come to pick it up from the victim’s residence. The victim was also instructed to call a number from only their landline the public defender had given them once the courier had arrived, according to police.
After calling the number from their landline when the courier arrived, the victim was instructed to give the phone to the courier. The courier told the victim they would receive a call from the courthouse once the money had been delivered. After waiting more than an hour for the call, the victim decided to call their friend whom they thought had been arrested, and it was then that the victim realized they had been scammed, police said.
Easton Police Chief Richard Doyle said police investigated the incident but could not trace the phone numbers provided to the victim to anyone.
“They use servers in the country and out of the country that always led to a dead end,” said Doyle.
When asked about how Easton residents could protect themselves from further incidents Doyle said, “Don’t give information out to anyone unless you verify it through proper channels.”
