Watch out for this Scam!
You receive a call from the “public defender’s” office notifying you that your son or daughter has been involved in a serious accident. You find out that your child was texting while driving and ran a stop sign, hitting a pregnant lady. She has been rushed to the hospital and they don’t know her condition.
Your child has been arrested and the judge set bail at $1700.00. The “public defender” is asking you to wire this to them immediately so they can bond your child out of jail to face criminal charges of “Reckless Endangerment.” While talking to you, the public defender is “on the other line” with the hospital and they are trying to find out the status of the victim and her unborn child. Hold on . . .
It seems like forever until they get back on the line to tell you . . . everything is OK with the baby. Now quick, send the money so they can get your child out of jail.
It’s easy to fall for these when they have your child’s license plate number, know the type of car the drive so they can give you enough details to make it seem real. They have even called on older, mentally deficient family members to prey on their vulnerability to get them to call you and relate this sad story. It seems real.
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But it is NOT!
Don’t fall for this and “wire” anyone money that you do not know.
If this truly happened, get the name of the county the Public Defender is “working in” along with a call back number. Hang up and call the sheriff’s office in that county to find out if your child has really been arrested.
The criminal justice system does NOT work like this. No one calls you to demand money. Your child would be able to talk to you, to hire a lawyer and have phone privileges to be able to contact a bonding company or family member to get them out of jail. Every one that I know that works in a “public defender’s” office is way too overwhelmed to take the time out to do this.
It would NEVER happen.
So take a breath, be smart, and ask questions to be able to verify what you are being told. Thieves don’t like smart people!
