"Send Money Or You'll Be Arrested"

The calls went to random phone numbers, collect, from two men in Chicago. They tried to reach very elderly women, believing that they would be easiest to fool. If the person who answered the phone accepted the collect call, the two said they were police officers, and were on their way to arrest the woman for drug trafficking. After some conversation, they convinced some women that if money was sent to them, they would not follow through with the arrest. Money was to be wired to their bank in Chicago.The scam ran for almost nine months, and netted the two over $9,000 before they were caught.

The most interesting fact about the case is that the two men - Kenneth Scott, 30, and Mason M. Johnson, 21, both of Chicago, were in the Cook County Jail using the facility's phone to run the scam! They have now been charged federally with extortion, conspiracy and wire fraud.

Copyright © 2001 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 11, No. 9, 9/01