Kansas City, Kansas, police have intercepted nearly $30,000 this week in cash shipped to fake addresses as part of a scam that preys on the fears of caring family members, primarily the elderly.
According to a police spokesman, investigators are working several cases in which a family member, usually a parent or grandparent living outside the metro area, receives a call informing them that a child or grandchild has been arrested and is in need of a large sum of cash – anywhere from $7,000 to $14,000. Police believe there was $60,000 involved in cases this week.
The caller identifies himself or herself as either an attorney or the actual family member in need. The victim then is directed to send cash to an address in Kansas City, Kansas, via a service such as FedEx or UPS, police said.
“In the majority of these cases, the cash is being shipped to a vacant residence,” Capt. William Wallace, a detective with the KCKPD, said. “The scammer then follows the tracking information, waits nearby for the package to be left on the doorstep and then swoops in to grab it. In one instance, the package was actually delivered to an occupied residence. In that case the scammer approached the resident once the delivery person left and claimed it was their package, but just misdelivered. When the resident refused, and said they were calling police, the individual ran off.”
KCK police are offering this advice to protect residents:
If you receive a similar call asking for cash to help a loved one:
• Ask the caller for the name of the loved one – many times the ask is general, for a “grandson” or “daughter.”
• Never send cash – that is the biggest red flag that it is not legitimate.
• Attempt to contact that family member immediately to verify the scam.
• Contact the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department reporting desk at 913-573-8680 or your local police to file a report.
If you receive a package addressed to an unknown individual at your address:
• Do not open the package and call police immediately.
• If you do not wish to contact the police, simply refuse the delivery or if it has been left, contact the service and ask them to return to pick it up.
• Do not hand over any package delivered to your address to a third party.
“While we have intercepted nearly $30,000 our investigation thus far has verified that nearly $60,000 in cash has been delivered to false addresses within Kansas City, Kansas, as part of this scam,” Wallace said. “We believe that the individuals organizing this theft by deception, as it’s termed, live outside the metro, but operate as part of a network that includes assistance by locals. It’s really sad because they are preying on elderly relatives who live as far away as Pennsylvania and Georgia. If you also consider the financial and emotional stress that COVID-19 has already placed on so many families, it’s all the more predatory.”
Anyone who may have been a target of one of these scams or have information regarding this or similar financial scams, may contact the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department at 913- 573-8680 or the Tips hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
Hello, I would like to tell you about a scam going on through the Facebook Marketplace. My wife and I tried to buy an RV trailer for $1,800. we followed every rule and regulations that the seller set up just to get scammed out of the $1,800 and the bad thing is I’m disabled and that was my life savings. We were going to use that trailer to travel, too. Heads up, be careful on the Facebook Marketplace because scams are out there on that, too. Unfortunately we were one victim.
We were contacted by one of these scammers a couple of years ago. It was our grandson “Michael.” It didn’t sound like our grandson, and Michael is a very common name. The young man said he was in jail and we needed to talk to his attorney. The “attorney” called later. When asked for Michael’s last name, he couldn’t provide it and he hung up. It was suspicious from the beginning since our Michael has several close family members he would have called besides us. We have not seen or talked to him for many years, other than on Facebook. Please be careful when you get these calls. Think and investigate.