According to a news story recently published by KLS, multiple Utah residents
have been recently tricked into sending thousands of dollars to scammers who are pretending to be lawyers that are representing their loved ones who have faced legal trouble.
The scam is straight forward: the scammer "lawyer" calls a person and informs them that their loved one was involved in an accident--usually "with a pregnant woman," and tells the person that they need to immediately pay the fake "lawyer" hefty retainer so that their loved one can have necessary legal representation.
In one instance, an elderly man from Grantsville paid $8,700 dollars via a Coinstar machine to fund the fake lawyer's retainer. The elderly man realized that he had likely been scammed when the fake lawyer told him shortly thereafter that the pending criminal charges against his son would be dropped if the man sent another payment for $12,000.
In a second instance, a West Jordan man paid a total of $45,000 to a scam "lawyer" who said he was representing the man's son, who was allegedly in jail for hitting a pregnant woman in a DUI-related crash. The man ultimately learned that his son had never been arrested.
Typically, scam artists of this type will pressure the victims into making payments by telling people that their loved ones need help immediately. These victims make the payments quickly--thinking that they are responding to an emergency situation. It is only with the passage of time and thought that these victims realize they have been scammed.
Law enforcement is advising Utah residents to take calls of this nature with caution. Do not take action based on a phone call only. If you think that the call may be legitimate, call the police department or the courts to confirm the information that has been told to you before taking further action.
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