Request for bail money new scam

RCMP warn of fraudulent phone call from ‘Officer Miller’
By Jesse Ferreras

Whistler has been no stranger to fraud in recent months.
Most reported incidents have surrounded housing – or a lack thereof – when aspiring Whistler residents have looked a little more closely at those peddling a place to live.
But there’s a new fraudster in town, according to the Whistler RCMP.
The Mounties got three separate calls on Jan. 9, all of them reports of attempted fraud. Each of the callers themselves were contacted by a male calling himself “Officer Miller, badge #3625.” He asked all three of them separately to wire between $3,000 and $3,800 in bail money to the Wal-Mart in Squamish.
The fraudster said this, despite the fact that there’s no Officer Miller in any Sea to Sky Detachment. As well, RCMP badge numbers are five digits, not four.
“What they did was they called somebody, they called three people and said, ‘Your relative has been picked up and needs money for bail,’” said Sgt. Steve LeClair with the Whistler RCMP.
None of the prospective victims were taken in by Officer Miller’s story. They all contacted the RCMP, which has said that police “will not call” relatives of people in jail to solicit bail money.
“Police certainly don’t start calling relatives saying, you need to get some money together to raise bail for your loved one who’s being held in custody,” LeClair said.
“If the Justice of the Peace said they’ll be released on $500 bail, then the person would raise that money, either by having somebody go to a bank machine for them or coming up with the cash and bringing it to a police station for them to be held in trust.”
Thus far the police haven’t turned up any leads or made any arrests in connection with this incident, but LeClair said they believe it’s an isolated one. Anyone who has information regarding this attempted fraud is encouraged to contact the Whistler RCMP at 604-932-3044.
In other instances of attempted fraud, people have posted housing opportunities online in a bid to scam money from people needing places to live.
In one instance, an employee at Whistler’s Camp of Champions saw a Craigslist posting for a three-bedroom suite in Creekside. He contacted the landlord, who said he was in Nigeria on a “Christian mission.”
The prospective renter was then asked to wire money via Western Union to a man named Lucas Adeyemo in Sango Ota, Nigeria, a man whose name came up online in connection with “puppy fraud” schemes.
The renter visited the suite mentioned in the posting and discovered people living there. The occupants had no idea about any landlord on a Christian mission.

LOCAL WOMAN’S ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL SCAM INVESTIGATED

By Jeff Waters, Democrat Reporter
A local woman is under investigation for her alleged role in an international scam, according to Det. Sgt. Ron Shaw of the Live Oak Police Department. The woman, whom Shaw did not name, may be charged in connection with the “Nigerian reshipping scam,” LOPD reports indicate.

Under the scheme, a computer hacker, often based in Nigeria or other nations known for lax law enforcement, makes large purchases using stolen credit card numbers. Since some U.S. retailers are wary of credit purchases destined for Nigeria and other locales, the hacker will often find a U.S. intermediary to accept the goods. The intermediary – sometimes an innocent dupe, sometimes a willing participant in the scam – will then repackage and reship the goods overseas for a fee.

According to reports, several such purchases were recently shipped to a Suwannee County address. Upon investigation, Shaw learned a female resident of the home was preparing to reship the goods to Ghana, Africa. According to Shaw’s report, a complaint against the woman will be sent to the state attorney’s office for review.

Conned out of £80,000 ..by a lover who didn’t even exist

EXCLUSIVE I WAS LONELY AND HE SEEMED SO NICE TRAGIC VICTIM OF INTERNET ROMANCE FRAUDSTERS
By Gareth Morgan
Lonely divorcee Kerry Day thought she had found the man of her dreams when she met American hunk Tony Wright on a dating website.

He wooed her with red roses every day, wrote her love poems and promised to marry her when he came to Britain.

But Kerry’s new-found happiness turned to horror when she discovered “Tony” didn’t EXIST – and that she had been set up by an international fraud gang who conned £80,000 from her.
Kerry, 50, lost her life savings, her job and will soon have no house after falling for the elaborate sting which is believed to have snared dozens more women across Britain.

Last week Michael Friskey, 40, was jailed for three years for his part in the scam but the masterminds are still free.

Kerry, who tried to kill herself after discovering she had been duped, said: “I can’t believe I was so foolish.

“Tony seemed such a nice and genuine guy. I fell in love with him quicker than I fell in love with my previous two husbands.

“He had our lives mapped out. He said I could go and live with him and his son in America. He was offering me everything I didn’t have – love, security and a family. I was very lonely and he pressed all the right buttons.

“Now I’m left with debts I’ll never pay off and all my life savings are gone. I was also asked to leave my job at a bank and I’m having to sell my house to survive.

It’s a nightmare.”

Kerry’s ordeal started in June 2007 after she bought a laptop to keep in touch with her sister in Crete. Feeling lonely, she thought she’d also use the inter net to find some male company.

And just days after joining the dating arm of Friends Reunited, she met “Tony”, who said he was a 49-year-old divorced dad in Minnesota.

Kerry said: “We clicked immediately and within a couple of hours we were talking online about everything.

“He said his son was in private education and that he was a mineral surveyor for the US government. We sent each other photos. He was so good looking. It was the first time in ages I felt attractive.”

For the next month, smitten Kerry chatted to “Tony” online every day. She tried to phone him but couldn’t hear him – supposedly due to a faulty line.

Kerry said: “He had been talking about flying me over to see him in the States so asked me to send over my driving licence and passport.

“I know alarm bells should have started ringing but he seemed genuine.

“Then he said he had to go to Saudi Arabia and would I visit him there instead? He said he would pay.

“But he then said that because of his diplomatic status his money hadn’t been cleared properly by officials and he asked me to send £3,000 for my flight and insurance and he’d give it back when he saw me. I had no hesitation and wired over the money. But then he said the insurance was higher because I was a woman going to Saudi Arabia so could I wire another £3,000?

“A day later he emailed saying he had to get back to the US and promised to come and see me on the way.

“But as he still couldn’t access his money, could I lend him £10,000? At the time it all seemed so feasible.”

Meanwhile ‘Tony” started sending Kerry poetry, calling her “Mrs Wright” and bombarding her with a dozen red roses every day for two weeks.

She said: “It was the most romantic thing anyone ever did for me.”

Then “Tony” cranked up the scam. He asked for £76,000 to cover the cost of a private jet from Saudi to the UK. Kerry sent the rest of her £35,000 savings – £19,000 – plus a £16,000 bank loan.

Claiming he was held up in Saudi, “Tony” arranged for an assistant to meet her at a hotel in London’s Canary Wharf to give her some cash back.

This man was Londoner Michael Friskey who told Kerry he had brought Û12.5million from Tony but there was a customs fee of £42,500. So Kerry handed over another loan for £30,000.

Friskey and an accomplice then turned up at her home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, with a bag full of money but said the notes had diplomatic marks which could be erased with chemicals costing £50,000.

When Ker ry tried to raise another loan at the bank where she worked the manager realised she had been duped and called police.

Friskey pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court, Kent, to fraud. Although “Tony” was based in the US, police think he could be part of a Nigerian crime network. The man and boy in the photo are unknown.

Judge Jeremy Carey said: “Miss Day was the victim of a very simple and alarmingly easy fraud. The impact on her was substantial.”

Kerry, who spent two days in hospital after a suicide attempt with tablets, said: “The judge got it spot on.”

The bank where she worked asked her to take early retirement because she handled large sums of cash.

Kerry said: “Financially I’m ruined – I have to pay £600 a month in loan repayments and I’m selling my house to help.

“But I am trying to rebuild my life. I have even met a newman online – although I haven’t told my relatives because they’d probably think I’m mad.”