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Wabash Valley police, public share java and info
By Lisa Trigg, Tribune-Star
Original article HERE
Telephone and internet scams topped the list of concerns for many residents in the Cobblestone Crossings community who had “Coffee With A Cop” on Wednesday.
Credit card scams and public safety were also topics presented to area law enforcement during the event sponsored by Triad, a community policing initiative partnering seniors, law enforcement and community groups to meet the crime-safety needs of older adults.
Aside from the public confession by Terre Haute Police Officer Ryan Adamson that “cops really do like donuts,” warnings about schemes to defraud people were taken seriously by the two dozen attendees at Cobblestone Crossings Health Campus.
“If it sounds too good to be true,” Adamson said of scam calls, “it probably is.”
Phony “prize giveaway” callers often target senior citizens to ask for money up front to process “lottery winnings” or vacation packages, to demand debit cards to avoid fake utility shut-offs or pay off non-existent arrest warrants.
Adamson was joined by Indiana State Police Sgt. Matt Ames, West Terre Haute Police Sgt. Ian Redman, and Vigo County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Steve Meng for the quarterly public gab session.
“This lets people know we are hear to support them,” Ames said after talking to several people. “It lets them know what action to take, or not to take, and what we can do to investigate or help.”
As spring break approaches, many college students will be traveling to distant warm beaches for a vacation. Scammers take advantage of that fact, Meng said, and will call elderly people pretending to be a grandchild who has been “arrested in Tijuana” and in need of bail money to make it home.
“I had that happen one time,” a man said, “and I looked outside an saw my grandson getting out of his car. I said, ‘But you’re in the driveway!’ and the guy hung up.”
Redman said he has heard of the scam call in which a person claiming to be an federal “officer” will call about a warrant. One tip-off, Redman said, is that federal “agent” is the correct term. And, he said, by the time there’s a warrant issued, contacts are not made via email or phone call.
“We like to show up at your door knocking,” Redman said of for-real warrants.
Calling in tips about suspected drug activity is also important, the officers told residents. It may take a while for police to develop a criminal case, due to the legal requirements, so it can seem like nothing is being done about the problem, Adamson said.
But those types of tips can start investigations, or add more information that police need to build the case.
City police Chief Shawn Keen said people should report telephone scams, but should also understand that many people may be reporting the same scam on the same days because scammers tend to target areas.
Even if police don’t ask a person to fill out a report – an actual theft of funds does result in a report being taken – the call is still taken seriously.
“If we get a bunch of calls about a scam, we will issue a public safety announcement through the news media to alert the public,” Keen said.
Several residents said they have been victimized by fake malware infecting their computers through email attachments. That scam may not seem to have a purpose, but the plan is to get the victim to pay a scammer to have the malware erased and the computer unlocked.
Once the scammer has a person’s identification and credit card or bank information, in a matter of seconds that information can be used for illegal purposes.
Michelle Bennett, a member of the Triad board, said the coffee sessions have been a positive and informal way for the public to communicate with police.
Future dates for the quarterly meetings are June 12 at Starbucks on U.S. 41 South, Sept. 11 at McDonald’s on Wabash, and Dec. 11 at Baesler’s Market.
For more information about Triad or to report a scam, call 812-231-1430.
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