One of the Experiences that made for my Bad Summer of 2008
Recently I was a Crime Victim when my wallet was stolen. This experience was very unnerving because it was so simple and easy for the pick pockets to get at my wallet. It was stuffed with all of my personal information. That was, I now recognize, a mistake. I now know it is a good idea to pare down the number of credit cards and remove personal information from your wallet, including the Medicare card that I usually carry.
I had been so incensed about the loss of my wallet that I began my own personal investigation into where the money had been spent and whether or not there had been security cameras in the stores where the credit cards were used. I passed this information to the police and waited to hear if the perpetrators had been arrested. I had the unrealistic hope that the people involved would be caught and sent to jail. That justice would prevail.
In the meantime I cancelled my credit cards, called the credit agencies and went about my usual business.
Catching the Criminal
One month after my wallet had been stolen I got a call from a police officer, detective Frank Jelenski, asking if I had a daughter by the name of Margaret Richman. The woman had tried to cash a check for $15,000.00. Her driver's license had that name on it and my address. They found stolen checks and several hundred dollars worth of counterfeit money in the trunk of her car.
I have no daughter by that name. The woman in custody must have stolen my license and altered it. The police officer told me that thieves sell stolen driver's licenses and that it is not hard to change the names and photos on them. However, they were more concerned about the fact that she had checks from my bank in her possession and that they believe she was part of a large counterfeiting operation that was using the bank to launder money by switching counterfeit money for genuine currency.
In any case, police were engaging in an undercover operation to arrest the entire gang. In the meantime, the police were concerned about my safety and would be sending a patrol car around my neighborhood to check on me during the night. Also, they may tap my phone with my permission because they feared someone might be wanting to get in touch with me. I would be informed of any further developments.
An Undercover Operation
The following day I received another call from Officer Jelenski. He told me that the woman who had picked my pocket had been arrested and she and the other woman were cellmates in Federal penitentiary serving for the crime of extortion and embezzling. They also had information that a third woman worked at the bank where I had an account. They believed that the three women were involved in a scheme in which they were siphoning money out of my account and covering it up with a false statement. In addition, they were substituting counterfeit money for real money in various bank transactions. I could help them make an arrest if I participated in the police undercover operation. Wow. How exciting this is, I thought. I got swept up in the project.
What was wanted of me was my cooperation in helping them catch the criminals in action. My job was to go to my bank and withdraw a sum of money. It was very important that I not tell anyone about this and I must be careful not to touch the money as it was important to have the fingerprints of the culprit on it. The police officer would return to the bank with the counterfeit money where the teller would be confronted and arrested.
All of this had to be done immediately because the teller had been seen on a surveillance camera carrying a large envelop into the bank. I needed to get in my car and drive for 45 minutes to the branch bank and go forth with the plan. There would be undercover officers at the bank and surveillance cameras watching the entire operation. Also, the money I was taking out of the bank would not really be my money. It was a set up to catch the crook. Officer Jelenski emphasized that I must not think of it as my money. My account wouldn't be touched.
I rushed to the bank and insisted that I had to withdraw a large sum of money in cash. The banker was reluctant to allow me to do this but according to bank policy, she could not ask a customer about the reasons for a withdrawal. After I had the cash in my purse I left the bank and met the police officer who was waiting for me several blocks away from the bank. He showed me his badge and politely accepted the package. Afterwards, I got a call from the police captain asking me if I was all right and telling me they had made an arrest. He said he'd call when I got home and give me further details.
Further Details
When I arrived home I got a call from Capt. Jelenski telling me there would be a story in the newspapers the next day. Also, I would be receiving a call from the State's attorney because they wanted me to go to court and give a deposition in the case. My money was safe and my account would be the same as usual. And I ought to know, there is a reward for capturing this woman and I may be eligible to receive it.
The next morning I decided to call Capt. Jelenski and find out what else had happened in the case. When I tried to find him at the police department I was told there was no such officer. There was no one by that name in any of the departments. Then I realized, too late, that although I think I am an intelligent person impervious to scams because I am so Internet savy, I had been taken in by a con artist and scammed.
Remorse and Anger
When I reported the crime to the police I was told that this is an old con game and the police were surprised to see that it was surfacing again. I've heard of many different scams, but I had not heard of this one. My reaction when I realized the truth was an intense sense of embarrassment and shame. I also was very angry at myself for being duped in this way. How could I be so stupid as to fall for it. In reviewing what happened, it is so clear that it was a set up. But when it was happening, I got so excited by the prospect of being a good citizen and helping the police catch a criminal that I lost all my ability to think logically. I got carried away.
There was no way I was going to tell anyone about this. How could I reveal my lack of judgement to any of my friends or family? And so several days went by before I decided to tell my 17 year old grandson who is living with me this summer. He was very empathetic and told me he had been conned out of his bike one year when he stopped to help another person fix a broken bike and that person grabbed his bike and rode off with it. He vowed secrecy. It relieved me to have told one person and that opened the door for me to tell my daughter the following day. She was horrified, but she told me that it was a confidence game and he took you in his confidence. This is the most despicable form of humanity. A person who engages in that is a sociopath without any basic human feeling. Yes, he was an expert at the game.
My daughter urged me to tell other people my story. She also helped me understand that I had to stop directing the anger at myself. Rather, I need to direct it at the evil persons who perpetrated the crime. I believe I wouldn't have fallen for it if they had not had so much personal information about me, including my driver's license. I can only guess that the same people who stole my wallet probably carried out or were involved in the swindle.
Telling the Story
At first it was impossible for me to stop thinking about what had happened. I couldn't even imagine telling any of my friends because I hated for anyone to think I am so gullible. No one wants to be thought of as a victim. Falling for such a scam is difficult to accept, not only because I lost a sum of money, but because I was a participant in my own deception. Yet, as painful as it is, I am telling the story because if I didn't know about it, this must be true for other people, too.
Now I know a lot more about this particular crime. It is a scam that is very popular in areas where there are numbers of older citizens living alone. Subsequently I have found numerous articles about it on the internet. The variations are different in each case, but they all involved similar kinds of scenarios.
Bank Examiner Scheme
According to this web site, most of these scams involve telling a victim their account has been tampered with by a dishonest teller.
This scheme depends on victims remaining passive and not asserting themselves enough to ask questions and insist on clear answers.
Con artists control their victims by frightening them”saying they are losing money to a dishonest teller, and then offering them a "solution" by promising to replace the lost money. By moving quickly through this process, they can often keep their potential victims so distracted that they will be unable to think clearly enough to see just how absurd a scheme this is. Some victims have reported that they felt almost hypnotized as they became more and more involved." This describes exactly how I felt when it was happening to me.
First published on Qassia. All Rights Reserved.
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About Me
- Stories from an artist point of view
- I am an artist with about fifty years worth of experience creating and exhibiting art in the United States.