Omaha police have released a warning to the public after two Craigslist scams led to a West Gate Bank robbery and an attempted robbery of Bank of the West
Authorities confirmed that in both cases, a person responded to a Craigslist ad in the employment and jobs section. According to the ad, the poster required help for a sick, elderly family member.
After a person replied to the ad, the scammer would reply, saying: “Help needed for a sick family member to include light housework, grocery store runs, and helping with finances.”
Lieutenant Kyle Steffen with Omaha Police said after the respondent was hired, the scammer would tell them to go to the bank and take out money on their behalf to pay for the sick family member’s medical expenses.
The two ladies who responded to the ad ended up committing a crime due to their ignorance. They passed the phone to the bank teller, anticipating that the person on the phone would respond with their bank information. However, the scammer ended up threatening the teller and demanded money.
In the first case, the woman assumed she’d made a withdrawal when the teller handed her the money. She was clueless about the amount of the withdrawal.
“At the moment, they did not think it was out of place,” Steffen said.
Lieutenant Steffen said the women were later told to deposit it to a Bitcoin ATM and the officer hasn’t seen any crimes committed in a similar fashion. “Well the initial reaction we were somewhat surprised,” he said.
However, it later became a pattern that kept the officials on their toes. “After the first case [here], we’re certainly on the lookout for it,” Steffen said.
The scammer also took down the personal contact information of the hired person and promised to compensate them through direct deposit for the errands. The scammer requested the bank information but wasn’t able to steal any money.
“They had an account set up for this type of work where there wasn’t much cash in that account because they were trying to be safe when doing online work and they take the money out of the account once it’s deposited,” he said.
Police warn people to not withdraw funds from strange job offers. When in doubt, don’t do it. You could be a pawn in an elaborate scheme. “Anytime they start asking for money to be sent online that’s the biggest red flag that jumps up,” he said.
“We continue to see the kinds of robbery attempts evolve and people using technology in new ways,” said Richard Baier, the president and CEO of the Nebraska Bankers Association.
Baier says his company takes the initiative to train bank tellers on these scams and informs law enforcement of new tactics. The onus is on the public to not fall prey to these scams.
“You’re used to hearing at the airport, if somebody is giving you a bag that’s not yours or they’re giving you an assignment that you’re not comfortable with, you really shouldn’t be pursuing that because it’s probably part of some kind of a scam activity,” said Baier.
It’s not always wise to help an elder; exercise judgment before carrying out the deed.
Source: https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-craigslist-scams-linked-bank-robbery/44546266#