Scammer uses Waynesville Police Web site in money con

by Jon Ostendorff

published April 8, 2008 4:44 pm

WAYNESVILLE – The Waynesville Police Department became a victim of a bizarre scheme to get money and personal information from people in at least two states and South America.

Someone pretending to be an FBI agent cloned the police department’s Web site and used it, and pictures of fake FBI badges, as credentials in the scheme, Detective Ryan Singleton said.

He made the story public on Tuesday to warn people. Police have alerted federal authorities.

Police learned of the scheme on Sunday when would-be victims called to check on the strange directions they were getting from in emails and telephone calls.

One woman, who lives in the eastern part of the state, said she was told she had a package from London waiting for her at the Waynesville Police Department. The caller told her the package contained money and that she had to pay $2,700 to get the package. Her sister, who happened to be a Wake County Sheriff’s deputy, called the Waynesville Police Department to check the story.

When a police sergeant called the victim for more information, she told him she had since been called again and was told she would be arrested on charges of money laundering if she didn’t pay up.

After that, two more people called on Sunday with similar stories.

One man, who lives in Brazil, told police that a man identifying himself as “Inspector Eric Hopley” of the Waynesville Police Department emailed him and told him he had a package waiting on him from Africa. The “inspector” said in his email that the man had to provide his Social Security number to get the package.

Another man, from Tampa, Fla., told police a similar story but said he had actually supplied his Social Security number and other personal information.

Singleton obtained a form the scammer was using in the con. The form was given to victims with the excuse that personal information was needed to prove the money waiting for them wasn’t from illegal activities. It asked for the victim’s Social Security number, full name, address and mother’s maiden name – everything an identity thief would need.

“We have never seen something this detailed,” he said.

The scammer took the identity of an actual police officer, although not one in Waynesville. Eric Hopley turned out to be the deputy police chief in Ontario, Calif.

The scammer used Hopley’s photograph from the department’s Web site in his emails. He placed the photo on fake pictures of an FBI badge and ID card to provide as proof of law enforcement credentials when some of the potential victims questioned him.

He set up a Web site, www.fbibdu.com, to supply to would-be victims as well. It is a copy of the Waynesville police Web site with a few minor changes, such as listing “Detective Eric Hopley” as a staffer and changing telephone and fax numbers to those used in the scam.

No one answered the number associated with the site listed on whois.net, a company that tracks domain names. The owner listed a Michigan address.

Police have sent the details of the scheme to the United States Secret Service since the crime did not involve anyone in Waynesville and was set up similar to a Nigerian-style check cashing scheme.

Nigerian scams usually involved one person sending a bad check to another with directions to cash it and send part of the total back. The person cashing the check is promised a cut in the deal but the check always turns out to be bogus and the victim is left holding the bad check.

Singleton said he doesn’t know why the scammer picked Waynesville and used it combined with a name and photo an officer in California, an email address purported to come from a “Washington Police” department and fake FBI credentials.

But he does want people to be aware of the fraud.

“We do communicate by email sometimes,” he said. “We want people to be aware that they can call us and speak to an officer if they ever receive an email.”

Nigerian Internet Scam Hits Vermont

Burlington, Vermont – April 18, 2008

Internet scams are a dime a dozen. But when a Vermont woman found a great deal on a rented house — online — she suddenly realized that something wasn’t right.

Amanda Thomson says she found it on the Internet. She was looking for a house to rent with her fiancee. She went onto Craig’s List, a free website that includes homes for rent.

“I saw this great house for $700 in the Burlington hills,” she said. “And it had pictures of the inside and it looked very nice. So I jumped on it.”

Amanda Thomson had the good sense to check further on the house in Burlington’s Hill section that supposedly rented at such a low price. She Googled the address. Guess what? The house she hoped to move into was for sale. She called the realty company.

Sybil Chicoine, vice-president for marketing with Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty, said, ”We contacted Craig’s List and they were quite cooperative in taking the listings down.”

Chicoine said several consumers called with similar stories about rental listings on Craig’s List. It was obvious that this was a scam. Especially since the email address of the people asking for a rental deposit up front was located in Nigeria.

Others dealing with offers on the Internet need to be careful. Chicoine added, “Just to do a little due diligence when they’re working online, and to — it sounds a little cliché — but when something’s a little too good to be true, you know, it might in fact be.”

Thomson said she feels embarrassed. But at the end of the day she avoided the trap. ”I did not send any money,” she said. “Still, I’m just the bulls eye because I fell for it, I was so convinced that I was going to get this house and we were going to have a great place to live. And it didn’t happen. But we did find something and it was good.”

Thomson hopes others will take heed. Verify everything when it comes to financial dealings on the Internet.

Andy Potter – WCAX News