As much as humans love to tout the AI boom and tech developments, it comes with a heavy hand of pros and cons. What we create and advance is used correctly by a set of people and adversely by others, creating a for-and-against game that involves the entire society at large. While others create a situation for people to earn money, some sit back and find ways to steal it from them.Now, a Pinellas County man is warning people after nearly thousands of dollars in a sophisticated warrant scam and demands for wired cash. Ben Wagner said he was at work when he received a call from someone posing as “Chief Hobbs” with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, according to a report by FOX13. The caller claimed Wagner had a warrant out for his arrest for missing a jury summons.To make the story believable, the caller even emailed a fake warrant that included Wagner’s correct name, listed charges and the sheriff’s name. Wagner said the details seemed legitimate and even looked up the names online while trying to verify the information. “This doesn’t seem normal,” Wagner said. “But again, my son was home and the last thing I wanted my son to see is dad getting handcuffed in the front yard.”
Step-by-step instructions
The scammer went on to provide Wagner with step-by-step instructions. They instructed him to drive to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on Ulmerton Road while keeping him under a fake gag order so he would not tell anyone. However, his wife tracked his location using Find My iPhone.“Thankfully, my wife is tracking me,” Wagner said. “We have Find My iPhone, and she was able to say I’m concerned about you, and I’m going to call the police, and thank got she did. The next text I got from her was, ‘ It’s a scam.”By that time, the callers had directed Wagner to transfer $300,000 to his checking account and wire the funds. A Largo police officer pulled up next to Wagner and tried to speak directly to the caller, causing the scammer to hang up.Authorities have not yet identified the suspect operating the scheme or confirmed if other local residents lost money.
Protecting yourself from scams
To avoid falling victim to scams, residents should always ask callers for a badge number and request to call back through the main department dispatch number. Ask what payment methods the agency accepts, as requests involving Zelle, gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency are major red flags.The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office noted it will never call, text or email asking for money or banking information over the phone. Anyone who receives a suspicious call should hang up immediately and contact local police using a verified number.