Sheriff’s Office detectives warn community about phone scams

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office detectives are warning residents about ongoing phone and text scams targeting personal and financial information. Reports continue to rise, and in several cases victims have lost thousands of dollars. Scammers are typically located out of state or overseas and use fake phone numbers that cannot be traced.

There is no pattern or consistent theme among the financial institutions involved, as detectives have received reports of similar fraud involving nearly every local financial institution in our community.

Below is a short synopsis of recent fraud reports Sheriff’s Office detectives have received:

Nov. 5: A victim received multiple calls appearing to be from Chase Fraud and Apple. The caller falsely claimed her accounts were compromised and instructed her to withdraw $9,000 and deposit it into a bitcoin machine. She followed the instructions and lost the funds.

Nov. 4: Bank of America reported an elderly customer fell victim to a lottery scam after receiving calls from individuals posing as government agencies, the FBI, and “Publishers Clearing House.” She unknowingly shared personal information, allowing scammers to transfer $32,765 from her account.

Oct. 13: A scammer posing as a Sound Credit Union fraud representative convinced a victim to follow email “security steps.” The scammer then took control of the victim’s accounts and used the person-to-person payment feature to withdraw $1,000 through four small transactions.

Oct. 12: A victim responded to a text that appeared to verify whether she had her phone. After providing a verification text code during a follow-up automated call, her phone locked into SOS mode, cutting her off from financial apps and email. Credit cards stored on her phone were then used twice for $2,499.84.

Oct. 9: A victim received a call from someone claiming to be with BECU’s fraud department who said there were suspicious charges on his account. He was instructed to deposit $500 using a texted barcode. After realizing it was a scam, he contacted his bank, which canceled his card but could not recover the funds.

The Sheriff’s Office urges community members to stay alert and follow these tips:

• Don’t answer calls or texts from unknown numbers. If you do, hang up immediately.
• Never share personal or financial information over phone or text.
• Caller ID can be fake. Verify callers independently. If someone claims to be from your bank, law enforcement, or a government agency, hang up and call the official number listed on their website, or visit their office in person.
• Law enforcement and government agencies will never demand money by phone or ask you to pay money for missed jury duty or to clear a warrant.
• Avoid engaging with robocalls. Do not press buttons to “opt out.” Just hang up.
• Be cautious of urgency or pressure. This is a red flag. Scammers often try to rush you.
• Do not pay with gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency when instructed by a caller; these methods are common red flags.
• If you were not expecting a phone call or text from your bank, do not click the links.
• The USPS will not request additional payments for something already in transit via text or email.
• A bank will not send a courier to pick up anything from you except notarized documents. Do not provide any information to an unexpected courier.

Residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and report suspicious calls. It is often difficult to get funds back once the money has been authorized via transfer to a scammer. There is usually little a financial institution can do to cancel the transaction.