Be on the lookout for scammers, state police warns

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - A West Branch woman is out $15,000 because of a scam that began with a phone call.

A state police investigator told TV5 that the scammer was persistent and intimidating.

“We received several phone calls from citizens explaining that they have been the targets of scammers,” Lt. Kim Vetter said.

Vetter told us a 68-year-old West Branch woman received a call from someone claiming to be with the Federal Trade Commission. The caller told the woman she was being investigated for money laundering.

“The scammer gave her very complicated directions for her to go to her local bank, withdraw a large amount of money, then take that cash, send a picture while she was still on the phone with them to text it to them,” Vetter explained. “Then she was told to take that cash, while still on the phone, to a bitcoin machine and deposit that cash, and send it to his account using his account using a QR code.

“All the while, he was giving her threats, threatening that she would be arrested because she had some outstanding criminal charges, that, of course, was false. And unfortunately, she’s out $15,000 dollars.”

Vetter said scammers are also targeting registered sex offenders, saying “they didn’t comply with some kind of new federal law that requires this or that, and now they owe a fine.”

She said before you give your hard-earned money to someone over the phone, get law enforcement involved.

“They can always call their local police agency, or state police post, and let them know the situation that they’re in, and we’ll be able to walk them through whether or not the instance is actually legitimate or a scam,” Vetter said.

Authorities say indicators of a scam may include being pressured to send money immediately, paying in a specific way, or being told there’s a problem or a prize. Often, the scammer will claim you’re in trouble with the government or they will want you to verify an account to win a prize.

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