COUDERSPORT — The Potter County District Attorney’s Office is issuing a warning about more scams committed via phone, after a realistic scam nearly victimized a Potter County family.
On Wednesday, a Potter County couple was contacted by a person posing as the couple’s daughter. She was crying and was otherwise incoherent. After a few moments, a male claiming to be a police officer in the state of Indiana took over the conversation and related that the couple’s daughter had just been in a motor vehicle crash and had injuries that made it difficult for her to talk.
The couple even heard police sirens in the background on the male’s end.
The male said the couple’s daughter had admitted to texting when she rear-ended a woman who is 7 months pregnant, and that their daughter was going to be arrested and arraigned due to the serious injuries the pregnant woman suffered. The male advised that the Potter County couple would be contacted by the local public defender.
The couple then spoke with a Sarah Williams, who claimed to be the local public defender in the area of Indiana where the crash occurred. The female provided the couple with a police case number and her phone number. The female additionally told the couple that they needed to post $15,000 cash bond to keep their daughter from going to jail.
Fortunately, the couple from Potter County contacted the District Attorney’s Office and the matter was quickly investigated. Additionally, the couple were able to make contact with their daughter, who was fine and had never been in a crash. The couple’s daughter was currently in the state of Indiana but does not live there. She was there only briefly in order to visit extended family.
This incident brings light to the fact that scammers are increasing the realism when attempting to perpetrate these scams for monetary gain. The scammers knew the daughter was in Indiana and were able to obtain her parents’ phone number in Potter County. The scammers also used realistic ploys that played on emotions and urgency.
Please use caution when receiving similar calls.
