Scamming the Valley

The days of the Nigerian prince needing help getting his money out of the country or the long-lost wealthy uncle leaving a sizable inheritance are long gone. As technology has advanced, so have the ways in which scammers and con-artists have tried to take advantage of people.

On May 12, Saratoga resident Janice Kerpan fell victim to one of the more recent scams and not only lost $600 but became the victim of identity theft. All of it started with a seemingly misaddressed email about an Amazon order.

According to Kerpan, she was checking her email account through Union Telephone which is used primarily for her phone and gas bill.

“I usually have oddball emails that I normally delete,” said Kerpan. “There was one that did not look right. Someone had bought a big screen tv and it was being sent to a woman in Florida. I thought I better call that number as we had not ordered anything.”

The email, provided to the Saratoga Sun by Kerpan, was addressed to “Karen” with a shipment number for a Samsung 82-inch 4K smart television to be delivered to 360 Raintree Lane in Wellington, Florida. Included in the email was an 800 number (1-800-674-8299) for customer service.

“I called this number and I was tied into these hackers,” Kerpan said. 

The people on the other end of the line told Kerpan foreign hackers had obtained access to her computer and they needed to clean it up. Despite her husband getting caught up in a similar scam a few years before, Kerpan says she didn’t get any red flags at first.

“They pretty much had full control of our computer unless I touched the mouse,” said Kerpan. “They are good at what they do and ask all the right questions. Unfortunately, I answered one too many questions to get pulled right into this scam.”

From the time Kerpan received the fraudulent email and made the phone call to the time she got off the phone, seven hours had passed.

“I played right into their hands. Three against me, they were all so nice and professional,” Kerpan said. “At least until I would ask a question and that should have been my first red flag. Their voices would immediately change. I still had not even given it a thought that it could be a scam.”

After several hours on the phone with two of the individuals, presumably women, Kerpan said she was asked to go downtown and purchase gift cards. The scammers had done their research as they were able to name three businesses in Saratoga who sold gift cards.

“They insisted I get Target cards but I said we do not have a Target, that they did not sell them here,” said Kerpan. “I went to Family Dollar and the biggest (ones) they had were Google Play (cards) for $50. I proceeded to the checkout and my first transaction was declined. They tried a couple times. That was probably the 2nd red flag.”

During this time, Kerpan was directed to leave her cell phone on and in her purse. She was also told not to speak to anyone. If she was asked what she needed the gift cards for, she was to say they were for personal use. When Kerpan did chat with the cashiers, she was lectured by one of the women on the other end of the call.

“I left there feeling something was not right,” Kerpan said. “But I went to Kum & Go and they had Google Play gift cards in the amount of $200.”

Kerpan was told to purchase three Google Play gift cards at $200 each. While, on the first try, her purchase was declined at the convenience store the second attempt was successful. Once Kerpan returned to her vehicle, she was directed by one of the women to scratch off the gift card numbers and letters.

“At that point I did not know that I would never get my money back,” said Kerpan. “They told me I had to stay online to get my money back. Once they cleared my computer, they would do that.”

As things appeared to come to a close, the women were replaced by a man on the phone. When asked by Kerpan how much longer it would take, he asked that she make a copy of her drivers license. While she made a copy of the front of her license, she could not make a copy of the back. The man then asked Kerpan what she would be doing the following day and told her she needed to buy three more gift cards at $200 each.

“At that time, I knew something was for sure wrong. I went directly to the police station,” Kerpan said. They confirmed it was indeed a scam and they were really active in the area. I was feeling pretty stupid.In the process of purchasing gift cards, the trio of scammers had obtained Kerpan’s checking account balance and had even requested she raise her daily spending limit on her debit card to the thousands of dollars. As the scammers continued to try and call Kerpan back, she was forced to cancel her credit and debit card. She was also directed by the police department to block any phone numbers that had been used to call her and to block any emails.

While she is not the first person to fall victim to a scam, Kerpan said she wants to make sure she is at least the last in the Valley.

“There are so many different scams out there. If it does not seem right, do not talk to them,” said Kerpan. “Hang up or delete the emails as soon as possible.”

For those who have found themselves a victim of a scam, they can place a fraud alert through the Federal Trade Commission. The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Unit can also be contacted by calling 307-777-5833 or 1-800-438-5799.