Heritage Lake woman targeted in elaborate scam involving phones, taxi

COATESVILLE — A Heritage Lake woman was targeted this week in one of the strangest and most aggressive scams local authorities can recall.

Putnam County sheriff’s Deputy Scott Ducker marveled at the gall and the planning involved in the scam.

“It was very elaborate, very aggressive, very well planned,” Ducker said.

The target was an 81-year-old woman who had fallen victim to a lottery scam last month, costing her thousands of dollars in “taxes” she was supposed to pay on her “lottery winnings.”

In the time since, she had received multiple calls from the scammers, but continued to ignore them.

That’s when the scammers got really aggressive, contacting a taxi company out of Indianapolis with instructions to go to the Heritage Lake address to pick up two people and then call a given number.

The driver did so, and when he called the number he was instructed to give his cell phone to the woman, who had answered the door.

The scammer told her she was in a lot of trouble for not having paid taxes on her winnings.

That was when things got even more elaborate.

“At the exact same time as this is going on, her cell phone goes off,” Ducker said. “(It was) another scammer calling and telling her he’s a federal agent and she has paid her taxes.”

In the meantime, the woman’s neighbors, who try to look out for her, had noticed the cab and called police. They also arrived next door and convinced her to hang up the phone.

“It was very elaborate, very aggressive, very well planned to actually send someone out there,”Ducker said. “It was no joke.”

As in all of these scam cases, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department is trying to use it as an opportunity to warn others of such dangers.

“As a reminder law enforcement (state or federal) will NEVER call you, claim that you have committed a crime and/or have a warrant and then demand that you send money to a bank account or wire transfer,” department officials posted on their Facebook page. “You can report any suspected frauds to the Federal Trade Commission and the Indiana Atttorney General’s Office.”

Such reports can be made at www.ftc.gov or www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/.