Scammer had me going for a while...

[HadEnuff]

I'm a retired dentist. Retired 4 years ago. I got a call from my old office that the DEA wanted to talk to me. An investigator with a badge number left the message.
I assumed maybe there was some issue with how I may have (or may not have?) notified them when I let my drug license lapse.
So the scam works like this: he tells me my DEA number (which he has) has been linked to an opioid Rx ring...at first he wants to know if I have any suspicions of former patients, employees, family members who might have copped an Rx pad etc etc and the conversation gets more and more threatening towards me.

What had me going is that twice in my career I was the subject of an investigation. In neither case were the suspicions against me at all founded, and no charges were ever filed, but in the early stages the investigators were very belligerent towards me and my staff. One was a DEA matter where I had not entered the Date of Birth of the patient in the proper format the other was a medicaid matter, in which I was cleared of any wrongdoing, without ever facing charges. It was a clerical error on THEIR part. In both cases the investigators came after us like they were sure I was a bad person and they were going to make a name for themselves.

So as this "investigator" got more and more belligerent and nasty towards me, it seemed more and more plausible. However, at a certain point he started asking about my "bank accounts" and that's when I shut it down, and told him there would be no more cooperation from me without my lawyer present.

And then he got really nasty and told me "fine if that's what you want, we'll be there with handcuffs, your name will be in the paper, your assets will be frozen, bail will be a half million dollars or more"...etc etc....I said, "well, do what you gotta do, but we are done here"....I was upset enough to call my brother who is a lawyer, and he was sure it was a scam...and an internet search reveals similar DEA scams, with only slight variations, but they eventually all get around to asking about your "legitimate" accounts, and one way or another try to make a sensible suggestion to wire them some money.

Neither the DEA nor the FBI came to my door in the middle of the night, so I'm probably OK, but it really hit home how clever these guys are. I'm no idiot, no "Babe in the Woods", but for a while he really had me going, and even when I ended it I wasn't 100% sure.

So be careful out there. These guys are better than you might think.

 

[CardsFan]

Wow. Scary to know these guys have "upped their game". Sounds like they had information on your prior run in's (probably public records, if you know where to look), and knew how to manipulate some one who had been through it before.

 

[Major Tom]

Thank you for posting and describing what almost certainly sounds like an attempt to scam you. Many scams are fairly easy to spot by those of us who are relatively young and still have our mental faculties. Those types of schemes don't bother me. The more advanced ones like this make me realize that we all need to keep our wits about us.

Once again, thank you for sharing. I'm glad you didn't fall for it, and sent them packing.

 

[gwraigty]

Someone called our house pretending to be from the DEA and left a menacing voicemail. The spoofed number was an actual DEA number. Bottom line, when I called the DEA, I was told that they never call to tell you they're going to arrest you. They'll just come out and do it.

 

[Midpack]

Someone called our house pretending to be from the DEA and left a menacing voicemail. The spoofed number was an actual DEA number. Bottom line, when I called the DEA, I was told that they never call to tell you they're going to arrest you. They'll just come out and do it.

That’s the tactic I always use when it’s not readily apparent I’m dealing with a scammer. Ask for them phone number, check it out, and call a number you’re certain is the org the scammer claimed to represent. IME they usually hang up without even giving a number once you insist on calling back to verify.

 

[HadEnuff]

Someone called our house pretending to be from the DEA and left a menacing voicemail. The spoofed number was an actual DEA number. Bottom line, when I called the DEA, I was told that they never call to tell you they're going to arrest you. They'll just come out and do it.

exactly. the call number was spoofed. it was an actual DEA number.

I have a relative (BIL) who probably was guilty of a small lapse of judgement, and he wound up in the hands of the cops who sweated him, without a lawyer, for 16 hours, until they got a "confession" of a bigger misdemeanor. We all wondered how he could be so stupid as to not have a lawyer present. It was all intimidation. It cost him 40K which was a strap, and eventually his marriage, and he was EXONERATED and the cops involved were censured.

His experience helped me hold my ground, but I admit to being intimidated. I spent a few unsleeping hours last night going around and around in my mind on how I could have missed this signal, or that signal, beating myself up for being such a sap.

Today I give myself a little slack for having been duped by a pro, but also a certain feeling about how a crook can mimic a real investigator by being just plain nasty.

 

[ERD50]

Thanks for sharing. That is pretty scary, and certainly far more sophisticated than the typical scams where they actually seem to be counting on the target being gullible, and just move on if they aren't, hoping to find a gullible one.

I was wondering about this part of your post: " I got a call from my old office that the DEA wanted to talk to me. An investigator with a badge number left the message."

Was it really your old office that called you, or was that a part of the scam too? But I guess your old office just figured it was legit and passed it on?

-ERD50

 

[HadEnuff]

Thanks for sharing. That is pretty scary, and certainly far more sophisticated than the typical scams where they actually seem to be counting on the target being gullible, and just move on if they aren't, hoping to find a gullible one.

I was wondering about this part of your post: " I got a call from my old office that the DEA wanted to talk to me. An investigator with a badge number left the message."

Was it really your old office that called you, or was that a part of the scam too? But I guess your old office just figured it was legit and passed it on?

-ERD50

Yes all of my former employees still work there, other that the one I'm married to. My former receptionist passed the information on to me, but did not give out any information to the caller. The gullibility was all on me.

 

[Dtail]

Thanks for posting.
I am naturally suspicious of people when confronted on any level, but interesting to note.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Wow, after your past experiences I could see how you were fooled at first. We have our old motor home for sale and are asking almost half of lowest BB mainly because we want our extra parking space back. So a local older guy contacted me on Facebook and he lives a half hour away. He and his son came and were very nice. They wanted to write a check and drive it away Sunday night. I said we would take cash on Monday. Later he texted and said since it didn’t have a awning he changed his mind. I say I will take another 1k off and awnings don’t cost that much. He didn’t want it. I am sure he was going to write a bad check.

 

[HadEnuff]

Wow, after your past experiences I could see how you were fooled at first. We have our old motor home for sale and are asking almost half of lowest BB mainly because we want our extra parking space back. So a local older guy contacted me on Facebook and he lives a half hour away. He and his son came and were very nice. They wanted to write a check and drive it away Sunday night. I said we would take cash on Monday. Later he texted and said since it didn’t have a awning he changed his mind. I say I will take another 1k off and awnings don’t cost that much. He didn’t want it. I am sure he was going to write a bad check.

Good move. Don't you just love it?

 

[ERD50]

Yes all of my former employees still work there, other that the one I'm married to. My former receptionist passed the information on to me, but did not give out any information to the caller. The gullibility was all on me.

I sure would not say you were gullible, it all seemed very legit based on your previous experience.

But it is a reminder to be very wary of calling a number that was provided to us, rather than looking up a number from a reliable source.

But a couple times lately, since I'm going on Medicare and have had a lot of insurance interactions lately, I've got a follow-up call from one of the insurance places, and they start asking me for my name and birth date. That raises a red flag, but I was expecting a call, recognized the voice, and like you, would stop if they asked for anything more personal.

About a year ago I had a call, supposedly from my ins company (I think posted about it here). There are only a few medical ins companies in IL, so their odds are pretty good that the target has that companies ins. Well, they start asking me questions, and I say - you called me, who were you looking for? They didn't give up easily, but no one ever called back. I'm sure that was a scam, but I didn't go far enough to figure their angle.

-ERD50

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, can't see law enforcement calling to tell you they are coming with the handcuffs.

Time to blow town eh?

 

[HadEnuff]

Yeah, can't see law enforcement calling to tell you they are coming with the handcuffs.

Time to blow town eh?

yeah..exactly...in the wee hours of the morning last night that was the one thing that kept me from sleep...but I missed it in the heat of battle.

Bill Walsh, the great 49'ers coach, invented the idea of scripting the first 15 or 20 plays from scrimmage. As he described it, you can have all of the best intentions during the week, in the quiet of your office, but when the 60,000 voices are screaming, you can easily forget what you had planned...
Or, in the words of the great Greek philosopher, Mike Tyson, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the nose..."

 

[Teacher Terry]

I wasn’t really expecting a old guy to try and scam me)

 

[HadEnuff]

I wasn’t really expecting a old guy to try and scam me)

What do young con artists turn into?

 

[audreyh1]

Wow! That seems really sophisticated for a scam. But it must get results otherwise they wouldn’t do it. Thanks for sharing!

Someone called our house pretending to be from the DEA and left a menacing voicemail. The spoofed number was an actual DEA number. Bottom line, when I called the DEA, I was told that they never call to tell you they're going to arrest you. They'll just come out and do it.

Oooh - I like that clarification!

 

[JoeWras]

Wow! That seems really sophisticated for a scam.

They are getting good a spearfishing. They know certain details of your life and prey on them.

The one that somewhat impressed me was an email from "my president" of a non-profit I was treasurer of. This is a common tactic. They use public information (990s, etc.) and try to get the treasurer to make an emergency release of cash by posing as a different officer.

To the OP. Good job avoiding this. Generally, we can ignore all phone calls. Nobody with authority uses the phone. Fedex letters, process server visits, and LEO visits require attention.

 

[donheff]

Just credible enough to get you worried that it might be real. But I don't understand how they get money from you. As soon as they started asking about accounts you bailed. What is the angle on why they would want access or transfers?

 

[JoeWras]

Just credible enough to get you worried that it might be real. But I don't understand how they get money from you. As soon as they started asking about accounts you bailed. What is the angle on why they would want access or transfers?

This is where the victim has to really feel the fear to bite the hook. They use all kinds of excuses about urgency, and payments that will solve the problem. I can't tell you exactly what this guy was going to do, but I'll give you an example that was on the news here recently.

A couple -- who knew about scams! -- paid a scammer in gift cards because the excuse was the sheriff's computer system was down and this would solve the issue now. They agreed to come on the news saying they knew about gift card scams but still bit the hook because he was so convincing and had all these logical excuses. They wanted to warn others as to just how slick this guy was, and that they knew they were maybe being scammed, but did it anyway. Kind of like a bug going to the light.

Some of these guys are really, really slick and play to emotion. Fortunately, our OP saw it right away.

 

[HadEnuff]

Just credible enough to get you worried that it might be real. But I don't understand how they get money from you. As soon as they started asking about accounts you bailed. What is the angle on why they would want access or transfers?

Here is where I think we were heading: he started talking about the perpetrators of this crime having over $50Million dollars in various accounts, and he wanted to know about my accounts. I think he was going to give me a chance to identify my "real" accounts (so they wouldn't be frozen by the Feds) by either identifying my accounts somehow, or wiring money to an account...

I'm only guessing here...but there were other cases where they did something like this.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Generally, we can ignore all phone calls. Nobody with authority uses the phone. Fedex letters, process server visits, and LEO visits require attention.

This is a very good tip.

 

[EastWest Gal]

It’s a very sad world when 99% of your calls and emails are bots and scammers and 90% of your mail is advertising junk-often disguised as “official documents”.

 

[braumeister]

Another interesting scam approach recently sent out by USAA:

Imposter Scams on the Rise: USAA Warns Members of New Fraud Method

I hadn't heard of this one before, but it seems as if it might be frighteningly effective.

 

[Dalmore]

They are getting good a spearfishing. They know certain details of your life and prey on them.

The one that somewhat impressed me was an email from "my president" of a non-profit I was treasurer of. This is a common tactic. They use public information (990s, etc.) and try to get the treasurer to make an emergency release of cash by posing as a different officer.

We see this at my place of work several times a year.