New Telephone Scam in El Paso County

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of El Paso County about the past and most recent reported telephone scams.  In the last week, Sheriff’s Office Crimes Against Persons/Detectives have received over two reports where a victims received a phone call claiming they were the victim’s family member and involved in an accident in Mexico and in need of money.  The two latest reports have taken place in the Clint and Canutillo area.  No monetary loss was reported in these cases.

THE CALLER’S METHOD OF OPERATION:

1. CALLER (scammer): calls residences landlines &  makes contact with the    residents /Victim.  It is unknown how phones numbers are being selected.

2. CALLER: claims and convinces Victim to be a family member of the Victim (i.e., nephew, aunt or uncle). Caller may have additional victim information such as type of car driven, names of additional family members or other information for purposes of convincing the victim.

3. CALLER: tells Victim they were involved in an accident in Mexico & are in need of money because the “Mexican Officials” either detained them and may claim they are asking for money to pay for other parties medical bills who were injured in the accident.  Some victims describe the voice to be that of a male.

3. CALLER: provides victim information on how to send the money via western union or a designates a location to meet with another person to drop off the money.

The amount of money demanded by the CALLER (scammer) can range from $400 up to $2000.  The CALLER is known to request the money in a form of a money gram/money order and have it wired to another place in Mexico or delivered at a designated location just across the border (i.e., restaurant) by another person.  The calls are known to take place on any day or time of the week.

Some safety tips to keep in mind.

Verify if the family member has actually been detained by contacting:

• Local Law Enforcement
• American Consulate/Consulate General of Mexico (915-533-4082)
• Other family members

If you continue to receive phone calls contact your local law agency and file a report. Take note of the time and day the call occurred, telephone numbers given, the conversation and value lost due to the scam. Do not send money without verifying information.

Should anyone receive a similar phone call please contact the EPCSO at 915-546-2280 or 9-1-1- for emergencies.