- A neighbor was targeted by a phone scammer asking for thousands of dollars.
- The scammer had personal information about the victim, raising concerns.
- Sheriff Aaron Hanson intervened to help the distraught victim.
- This incident highlights the ongoing issue of phone scams in the community.
Phone scammers have found a new gimmick, calling residents claiming failure to report for Jury Duty. A neighbor rushed to the sheriff's office for help during one of these distressing calls.
Watch Hannah's story:
“They knew my address. They asked my husband's employment,” said Kelly Baessler.
KMTV reporter Hannah McIlree was at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office for a different story when Baessler ran up to Sheriff Aaron Hanson. She was on the phone, crying, and holding a note that said "I need help guy on the phone says I'm going to be arrested."
She handed Sheriff Hanson her cell phone with the scammer on the line.
“I took over the phone call. And I pretended like I was your [Baessler] husband for just long enough to kind of get him back on the hook. Then I told him I was a sheriff at that point he knew he was caught,” said Sheriff Hanson.
The person on the other end of the call told Baessler she missed Jury Duty and needed to pay a $4,500 fine via PayPal, or she’d be arrested.
“There's always a sense of urgency. It needs to be done right away,” said Baessler.
She had been on the phone with the scammers for 45 minutes before driving to the sheriff's office for help.
“No government agency is ever gonna take any revenue like that, it's either gonna be at a desk, maybe online through the official treasurer's website, but especially for a bond, it's gonna be cash at a correctional facility, never through some third party,” said Sheriff Hanson.
Investigators took down Baessler's information and are looking into the call.
“I even asked him, I said, I looked at the invoice and I said the invoice doesn't say anything, so that was another red flag,” said Baessler.
Though the call gave her quite the fright, she said she hopes sharing her story can prevent others from falling for similar scams.
“It’s scary and it's sad and. You know, I think they just prey on vulnerable people. I always worry about my parents, who are older exactly my parents are older, and I really worry about them,” said Baessler.
A warning from the sheriff’s office, scammers can use false phone numbers and area codes, just because someone is calling you from a 402 area code doesn’t mean their in the Omaha-metro. Law enforcement says scammers are rarely in the same state as their victims.
Sheriff Hanson says if someone is claiming to be from their office or saying you missed jury duty to immediately hang up and call the Clerk of District Court office at 402-444-7018 or the sheriff's office at 402-444-6636.
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