Scam accuses victims of being in possession of stolen property

Scammers will try just about anything to get what they want and money isn’t always the main objective.

High dollar items, like cellphones, are just as valuable and now scammers are turning the tables on victims by claiming to be victims themselves.

A couple of weeks ago I received a call to my cellphone.

The number was from out-of-state, so I ignored it.

Then text messages followed accusing me of being in possession of a stolen cellphone.

The caller claimed the phone belonged to his aunt and that if I didn’t return the cellphone, he said he would kill me.

When I called the number and attempted to speak with the caller, the man didn’t let me say much and he again repeated his threat.

He then texted me an address where he wanted me to return the phone.

The address was a home in Northeast El Paso.

Of course I didn’t go to the location, but I was troubled by the fact the caller mentioned an El Paso address, and I wondered, could he possibly be in El Paso?

I spoke with Sgt. Robert Gomez, a spokesman with the El Paso Police Department to learn more about this type of scam.

“They’re tactics are very aggressive and they just want you to comply with whatever they’re demanding,” Gomez said. “Usually it will be a high dollar item such as an I-Phone or something of high dollar value, it’s relatively new that they want you to take it somewhere local.”

To be safe and in case something were to happen, I went ahead and filed a police report.

El Paso Police urge the public to do the same if they feel their life is in danger

They also advise not to be alarmed when a scammer mentions a local address, police say it’s all part of the plan.

“They’re just throwing something that’s familiar to you to make you think they’re able to get to you when they really have no idea where you are,” Gomez said.

In my case, police were able to trace the number to a pre-paid cellphone in Kentucky.

The intent is still unclear, and I wasn’t about to find out by going to the address the caller wanted me to go to.