Framingham Police: Senior Citizen Deceived Out of $16,000 in Bail Scam

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FRAMINGHAM – A Framingham resident was robbed of $16,000 in a bail money scam, said Framingham Police spokesperson Lt. Rachel Mickens.

A man described as a Hispanic male, thin build, and about 5-feet, 6-inches tall went to a Westgate Road residence to pick up the money, said Lt. Mickens.

The male left in a white SUV with Mainer plates, said Lt. Mickens.

The man tricked into giving the money in the bail scam was over the age of 65, said police.

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In some bail scams, the caller claims to be a bondsman helping a relative arrested or involved in an accident and urgently asks the individual for bail money.

AARP recommends the following tips, if someone calls and demands bail money:

• Hang up immediately and call the family member in question, on a known number, to make sure they’re safe. With luck, they’ll answer, and you’ll know the supposed emergency call is a scam.
• Contact other family members or friends if you have any concern that the emergency could be real. Scammers plead with you to keep the situation a secret precisely so you won’t try to confirm it.
• Trust your instincts. As the American Bar Association advises, if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

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• Don’t drop your guard because the number on your caller ID looks familiar. Scammers can use technological tricks to make it appear that they’re calling from a trusted number, the Federal Communications Commission warns.
• Don’t volunteer information — scammers fish for facts they can use to make the impersonation believable.
• Don’t send cash, wire money, or provide numbers from gift or cash-reload cards to a person claiming to be a relative. Scammers prefer those payment methods because they’re difficult to trace.
• Don’t panic, no matter how dire the relative’s predicament sounds. Scam artists want to get you upset to distract you from spotting the scam

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