DEA Issues Scam Warning To Californians

CALIFORNIA — The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public warning Thursday about a widespread fraud scheme in which telephone scammers impersonate DEA agents to extort money or steal personal identification information.

A new public service announcement aims to raise awareness that the DEA will never call to demand money or ask for personal information.

The scam has some variations but includes telling victims that their names were used to rent vehicles that were stopped at the border and contained large quantities of drugs. The scammer then has the victim verify their Social Security number or may falsely claim that a victim's bank account has been compromised, according to the DEA.

In some cases, the scammer threatens the victim with arrest for fictional drug seizure unless money via gift card or wire transfer is paid to settle the “fine.”

The scammer uses the same payment ruse to "assist" with the fake investigation or with "resetting" a victim's bank account, the agency warned.

A portion of an actual scam call was captured by DEA and can be heard here.

Employing more sophisticated tactics, scammers have spoofed legitimate DEA phone numbers to convince their victims that calls are legitimate. Scammers also text photos of what appear to be legitimate law enforcement credentials. They also use names of well-known DEA officials or police officers in local departments, according to the agency.

"The reported scam tactics continually change but often share many of the same characteristics," according to Wednesday's DEA warning.

Some of the other tactics include:

· using an urgent and aggressive tone, refusing to speak to or leave a message with anyone other than the targeted victim;

· threatening arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, and, in the case of medical practitioners and pharmacists, revocation of their DEA registration;

· demanding thousands of dollars via wire transfer or in the form of untraceable gift card numbers;

· asking for personal information, such as social security number or date of birth;

· referencing National Provider Identifier numbers and/or state license numbers when calling a medical practitioner. They also may claim that patients are making accusations against the victim.

"DEA personnel will never contact members of the public or medical practitioners by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment," the DEA said in its warning.

The agency will never request personal or sensitive information over the phone, and will only notify people of a legitimate investigation or legal action in person or by official letter, the agency said.

"In fact, no legitimate federal law enforcement officer will demand cash or gift cards from a member of the public. You should only give money, gift cards, personally identifiable information, including bank account information, to someone you know," the DEA warning said. "The best deterrence against these bad actors is awareness and caution."

Anyone receiving a call from a person claiming to be with DEA should report the incident to the FBI at www.ic3.gov. The Federal Trade Commission provides recovery steps, shares information with more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies, and takes reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

For victims who have given personal identification information, like a social security number, to a caller, learn how to protect against identity theft at www.identitytheft.gov.

Impersonating a federal agent is a violation of federal law, punishable by up to three years in prison; aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison plus fines and restitution, the DEA said.