Phone Scammers Target Concerned Family Members

Jail inmates are targeting the public through a telephone scam and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which serves Diamond Bar, is urging the public to beware.

Deputies report noticing an increase in calls from people who have been tricked by the scam, resulting in unauthorized phone charges for the unsuspecting victims.

The scam works like this: the caller poses as a police officer and tells the victim that a family member has been imprisoned. To get more information about the jailed family member, the victim is asked to call another number after dialing *72.

By pressing *72, the victim sets their phone to forward all calls — including collect calls from inmates — to the number dialed. Calls to the scammer are, at that point, charged to the victim.

After dialing the number to get more information about the loved one, the victim is told that he or she has dialed a wrong number.

The charges for collect calls can mount up before the victim realizes what has happened, authorities said.

The Sheriff’s Department is urging the public not to dial *72 unless they plan to forward their calls. Victims who have been scammed are urged to contact their phone service provider to learn how to automatically shut off call forwarding.

If you have been involved in this scam, and you have already dialed a number beginning with *72, contact your phone service provider to learn how to shut off automatic call forwarding.

For more information, see this additional release by the California Public Utilities Commission.