Lake County >> When it comes to phone scams anyone can be a target, from senior citizens to a chief of police.
“They call every dang number that’s available,” Clearlake Sgt. Rodd Joseph said.
In recent weeks reports have come in of people in Lake County receiving official sounding automated calls alleging they owe money to federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the U.S. Treasury Department.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen warned that neither operates this way.
“The IRS absolutely does not call people and try to threaten them or say that they owe money,” he said.
Last fall Lakeport had an influx of scam reports, during which time even Rasmussen was targeted. He had two voicemails in as many days from scammers, one claimed that IRS enforcement would arrest the chief and charge him in criminal federal court. And just last week he received another voicemail attempting to fraudulently collect money once again.
Though the city of Lakeport hasn’t had as many reports recently, Clearlake and Upper Lake residents have reported their share of calls within the last month — enough that it prompted the Clearlake Police Department (CPD) to send out a press alert on Jan. 15, warning the public of a scam caller.
This particular incident involved a male suspect with a foreign accent who reportedly went by the name Kevin Peterson calling from the phone number (646) 740-0330, according to the alert. He told his victim that she owed money to the U.S. Treasury Department and instructed her to send a “Money Gram,” but she instead notified the CPD.
An Upper Lake man also reported four voicemails left one after another from the number (206) 899-8561 saying he owed money to the IRS. He didn’t respond, and after speaking with a neighbor down the road found out she’d received an identical message from the same number.
Using random phone number generators and mass calling systems, scammers can target people in a specific area code and saturate its phone system by sending out messages simultaneously to everyone in that region, Joseph said.
The pre-recorded messages typically threaten arrest or lawsuits if the intended call recipient does not comply with orders, which often times ask the person to either send a money order or provide sensitive personal information such as his or her Social Security or bank account numbers.
Most legitimate agencies, including federal, do not ask for this type of data from residents, the officers warned.
An individual who receives a suspicious call should not give out any personal information whatsoever or wire money. Rasmussen said not to call back and to block the number.
Though tracking these kinds of calls is difficult, and most are out of local police departments’ jurisdiction, Joseph said reporting scam calls still helps and encourages the public to do so in order to increase awareness and prevent residents from becoming victims.
