“Relative in Distress” telephone scams are on the rise.

These scams are targeting U.S. Citizens from within and outside of the U.S.

FEDERAL AND LOCAL OFFICIALS WARN AMERICANS of the rise in these telephone scams.

[FBI News Release] Law enforcement has seen an increase in the number of reports by victims of telephone scams where the caller impersonates a family member of the victim and concocts a phony scenario suggesting the relative is in distress. This announcement was made last month by Steven Martinez, the FBI’s Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office; André Birotte Jr., the United States Attorney in Los Angeles; and officials with the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

In an effort to reach victims before they are convinced to send money overseas, law enforcement is detailing the signs potential victims can recognize in order to identify a scheme in its early stages.

Southern California and its many retirement communities, has long been a target-rich environment for thieves intent on defrauding unsuspecting victims, particularly the elderly. While common schemes, such as counterfeit check, foreign lottery and mystery shopper schemes continue to plague victims, law enforcement is advising the public about the emergence of the “RELATIVE IN DISTRESS” (RID) scam. Law enforcement agencies have seen a dramatic increase in the number of complaints by victims of RID scams.

RID scams can vary in terms of the details supplied by the scammer, the target demographic and the location from which the scam is perpetrated, however, the general fraud is carried out as follows:

Victims are contacted by one or more individuals claiming to be a relative of the victim in a situation causing them some form of distress. The scammer advises the victim of the circumstances of their situation and invariably concludes with a plea for help in the form of cash. Victims are asked to wire money to an address, many times overseas, and in some cases will be asked to send money more than one time as the purported circumstances evolve and become more harrowing.

In some cases, the caller will introduce a third party, such as a purported Embassy official, police officer or lawyer, to the phone conversation in order to lend legitimacy to the scheme. In most cases, the caller impersonating the relative will claim to be in the hospital, in a foreign jail or in an otherwise compromising situation where cash is required immediately. In these cases, victims have claimed to be distracted by their emotion and influenced by an intense desire to assist their loves ones.

In an effort to avoid detection by law enforcement or circumspect family members, victims have reported that the fraudulent caller advised them to refrain from telling other family members about their purported plight so that they would not be embarrassed. Law enforcement theorizes that many of the perpetrators mine websites or personal social networking sites to obtain personal details about their target victims.

Three victims of the RID Scam have reported the fraud to authorities in Los Angeles and have joined law enforcement officials to tell their stories so that they might prevent others from making the same mistake. The three victims in Los Angeles collectively wired over $30,000 to foreign countries, including Lebanon, Spain, Italy, Canada, Dominican Republic and Peru.

Click on to read Elder Abuse Hits Home of how a former caregiver was scammed twice within 48 hours by her “alleged grandson” in jailed in Canada.

Law enforcement has seen reports of this scam which involve nearly every part of the world, including from within the United States. Two of the Los Angeles victims were contacted by individuals who claimed to be family members serving in the U.S. military. The fact that the family members being impersonated were actually in the military added credibility to the scheme.

Law enforcement has been successful to a degree in identifying victims and prosecuting offenders operating in the United States and from overseas, but stresses that prevention in the form of education is the key to preventing the continuous problem.

10 TIPS FOR CITIZENS WHO MAY BE TARGETED FOR FRAUD

1. Be suspicious of any offer that sounds too good to be true.
2. Take time to research any offers you receive over the Internet or telephone.
3. Fraudulent telemarketers may pretend to be government officials, banking representatives or attorneys, or may send phony documents in attempts to make offers appear legitimate. Read the rest of this entry »