Scam Alerts

Contact the police department at (573) 874-7448 if you have questions about any of the "Alerts".

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Family Member has been Arrested Scam:

On October 14, 2010, a telephone fraud was reported to the Columbia Police Department. The 78 year old complainant received a telephone call and the caller claimed to be her grandson, saying he had been arrested in Canada and needed money. Another man came on the phone, claiming to be a law enforcement officer and told her that her grandson would be sent to the penitentiary if she did not send the money. She was told to go to two different Hy Vee Bank locations and take out $5,500.00 at each location and then arrange a money transfer. Instead, she alerted police, who ascertained that her grandson was fine, at work, and not in Canada, nor had he been arrested.

On October 29, 2010, police received a second similar report. The 86 year old Columbia resident received a phone call from a man claiming to be an attorney. The man said her grandson had been involved in an automobile accident in Canada and that she needed to send almost $3,000.00 to get him out of jail. During a second phone call, the man told her she needed to send more than $7,000.00 additional dollars to cover court costs. They settled on a lesser amount; however, an alert Western Union employee suspected the transaction was fraudulent. So the resident contacted police and the alert employee kept her from losing any further money.

On November 1, 2010, police received the third report of this activity. The complainant in the second incident is 87 years old and her grandson is a college student who lives out of state. The caller in this incident also pretended to be her grandson. He also said he was in Canada, and needed money to bond out of jail. Again, a second man then came on the phone line, advising he was a law enforcement officer. He told her to go to Western Union and send $2805.00 in her grandson's name. She was told to call a phone number with the receipt number. Instead, she called her grandson, who was fine; and then she called police.

On November 29, police received the fourth report of this scam. A caller claimed to be the grandson of the residents, and said he was arrested for DWI, in Nashville, Tennessee. The caller said he needed $4,000.00 to get out of jail and that he would have his attorney call them. One of the residents saw that the phone number being used to call them was an Ontario, Canada number. The residents recognized this as a scam and hung up on the caller. They called their grandson, who was just fine, and not in jail.

Bank Examiner Scheme:

On November 15, an 80 year old Columbia resident received a phone call from a male claiming to be an employee of Boone County National Bank. He convinced her that he was investigating a teller at the bank who had been stealing money. He told her that he needed her help and told her to withdraw money from her bank account for him to use in his investigation. She did withdraw money, and met the man in a parking lot of a retail store, in Columbia. She gave him the money. Later she received a phone call, and the man told her that the teller had been caught, and she should report back to the bank on November 17th. On the 17th, she learned that this was a scam and the man did not work for the bank. This is a classic example of the "bank examiner" scheme. The man is a white male, 5'8" about 200 pounds, about 50 years old, and drives a gray Toyota Camry. Police are still investigating.

Fraudulent Purchase:

On October 27, a Columbia resident reported a fraudulent sale to police. She had listed a ring for sale on Craig's List and was contacted by a man who wished to purchase the ring. They met, and he looked at the ring. The next day, he provided her a US Bank Cashiers Check. She was advised by her bank that the cashiers check was fraudulent. Police are continuing to investigate.

Fraudulent Magazine Sales:

On October 22, 2010, two Columbia residents reported a fraud. They had been approached by solicitors who were selling magazines. The two male suspects told them that proceeds would go to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Columbia. The two residents ordered magazines, but they later talked to a representative of the Ronald McDonald House and determined the sale to be fraudulent. The name of the company the suspects said they work for is Someday Sales. Police are continuing to investigate.

Internet Scam Alert: *Two Incidents*

First incident: On October 8, 2010, a Columbia resident reported a fraud. The victim met the suspect on the internet. He called himself "Joseph Brown" and said he lived in New Jersey. He claimed to be a dealer in semi-precious stones as well as a benefactor of an orphanage in Ghana. He told her he was going to be traveling to Ghana. He later told her he lost his cell phone and laptop. She purchased a cell phone for him and a laptop and mailed them.

He then told her he needed money for surgery for a child. She mailed him the money. Later she was contacted via Facebook and told that "Brown" had been mugged and was hospitalized and needed money for medication. She sent additional money. Later she was told that "Brown" was going to ship some gold and needed money to transport it. She sent additional funds.

The victim has lost a substantial amount of money but realized she had been deceived and contacted police. The suspect continues to try to contact her.

Columbia Police urge you against sending money based on information like this. These interactions are scams.

Second incident: In August, an area business was contacted via a TTY system, from a man claiming to be in Ghana. The man wanted to purchase supplies for an orphanage. The man gave the business credit card numbers for the transaction. The business was also contacted by someone claiming to represent the freight company who would be responsible for delivering the products. The person asked for the delivery fee to be sent via wire transfer.

The credit card numbers were fraudulent and the victim has suffered a large monetary loss due to sending funds via wire transfer.

Police ask businesses to make employees aware of these scams. TTY systems are sometimes used in these schemes and business employees should verify information and be very wary of wiring money, paying freight or shipping to a third party, or advancing or returning any funds at all.

Solicitor Alert: On October 5, 2010, officers were dispatched to the West Boulevard area because of a suspicious incident. A white male with a muscular build and dark curly hair, was walking through the area using different stories to try to get residents to give him money. At one point he identified himself as "Daniel." He was described as pushy. At one point, "Daniel" attempted to ride away on a child's bike belonging to a resident of the neighborhood. One of "Daniel's" stories was that he needed to raise money to attend a soccer event in Florida.

Police ask you to call the non-emergency number at 442-6131 if something like this occurs in your neighborhood; or, call 911 if you feel threatened or witness a crime (like the attempted bicycle theft).

Health Inspector Scam: In October 2010, police received information that restaurants in the Kansas City area have received calls from someone claiming to be a health inspector and attempting to set up an inspection, possibly after hours and thereby requesting security access codes and other confidential information. If your business receives a call like this, please do not give out information. Instead, please report it to police.