Tampa Police officers warn of rise in phone scams

Rise in phone scams across Tampa

The Tampa Police Department is warning residents about a recent increase in phone scams. Ariel Plasencia reports.

TAMPA - The Tampa Police Department is warning residents about a recent increase in phone scams.

What they're saying:

"We're seeing an uptick. So I would say, on average, I get one (phone scam) a week, and the last two weeks, I've had nine (total)," Tampa police department Det. Hope Dauphin told FOX 13. "So there's definitely been an increase recently and especially a trend."

What we know:

Scammers are smart: Sometimes they call victims, pretending to be with a law enforcement agency. They explain there’s some sort of urgent problem, and money is needed to fix it. 

"Just to kind of pull on people’s heartstrings: That their relative is in jail or that they themselves have a warrant for missing jury duty," Dauphin said. "And so there's a panic that sets in and then that results in them losing quite a bit of money to these suspects."

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To add even more stress, these scammers use advanced technology to make it look like the number they’re calling from belongs to a real agency. 

"For example, they'll use a jail phone (number) or the police department's phone number. And so when you Google that number, it seems legitimate," Dauphin added. 

By the numbers:

Scammers are also relying on technology to get cash from victims, too. Dauphin said in some of these recent cases, they’ll text the victim a gift card. Then they’ll ask the victim to go to the store and load money directly onto the gift card.  "And now digitally, they're sending the suspects money, which makes it hard to trace them," Dauphin said. 

 Unfortunately, victims are losing quite a bit of cash.  "We used to see like $1,000 to $3,000 (in financial losses)," Dauphin said. "(Now), I'm seeing 10, 15 to $25,000."

 The Tampa police department is reminding residents that law enforcement will never demand payment over the phone - and definitely not through gift cards. 

If you get a suspicious phone call, hang up, call the number back, and wait to speak to an actual person to confirm the validity of the financial request, detectives add. 

Dig deeper:

So why the recent uptick in phone scams? 

 "I think it's just social media and how easy it is to look up stuff," Dauphin said. Let's say a relative of mine went to jail today. You could go on and Google and find out easily who grandma, mom is, addresses, phone numbers. It's very easy to find out who someone's loved one is and just pull on their heartstrings."

What you can do:

Tampa Police encourage residents to talk with family members and neighbors, especially seniors, who may be more vulnerable to these scams. Report fraud or suspicious activity to the Tampa Police Department at (813) 231-6130 or submit a report online.