NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, SportsPhone scheme victim recalls scary call

Phone scheme victim recalls scary call

BENNINGTON, VT. –A Bennington woman, targeted in an area phone scheme, looked uneasy as she recalled a series of phone calls she received from a man claiming to be an officer asking her for hundreds of dollars Thursday.  

"I was shaking, I didn't know what to do," Amanda Hicks said about the first call. "He called me, said he was an officer, read off all my information; my name, my address, my social security number, my bank account number, my routing number, said he was watching me," she said.

Hicks, a mother of three, says the man who had "a strong foreign accent" told her she owed a company around $500 and if she didn't pay it she'd end up in court.

"He goes, when you give me the money we, by law, aren't allowed to accept debit or credit, you'll have do to it Western Union," Hicks said.  

Hicks situation in Bennington is similar to a case Albany's Police Department responded to on Knox Street Wednesday.

Police spokesman James Miller says the Albany woman received a call from a number out of Long Island, New York. Miller says when the man called he told the victim that there was an open case on her in which she owes $745 to one of the companies Southern USA owns. When she asked which company, the caller would not reveal it. He directed her to write a letter stating that she wanted to resolve any problems with the company out of court. She then was given a fax number to fax the letter.

"They'll do anything to get your money," Miller said.  

NEWS10 called one of the alleged numbers. The man on the other end said he worked for a collections agency and didn't have any idea about someone pretending to be a police officer and making calls from that number.

Miller says catching those responsible for cyber or phone schemes is very difficult, but wants people to know an officer would never contact or threaten to arrest someone for any alleged debt.

Hicks say she hopes she doesn't get another call. "It's been horrible, it's been scary," Hicks said.