Ulysses Chief of Police Ron Vagher posted a warning to the community on social media July 22, after he was alerted to a phone scam from someone claiming to represent his department. In fact, they claimed to be Chief Vagher himself.
"Pretending to be law enforcement is not a new concept. That's old," Vagher said. "The new twist to it, when I spoke to the potential victims, is they used my name and my title."
Scams in and of themselves should be taken seriously, but when they involve law enforcement, that increases the concern.
"We would have handled it like any other scam, but the fact they were using local law enforcement to effect the scam, is why we put the post out," Vagher said. "Every time we talk to people it is always the same. We tell them law enforcement is not going to ask for payment. We are not going to threaten them if they don't pay us via those Green Dot cards or Apple cards or anything like that. We do not get involved in lottery winnings. If they are telling you that you won something and you didn't sign up for anything, it is a scam."
Vagher provided an example of the difference between scam and reality.
"When you go to the convenience store, and you purchase a Powerball ticket — now you are involved in that lottery," he said. "And when you watch and see the numbers match you know it's coming. People don't just give cars away. People don't just give money away randomly. If you do win the lottery, they don't make you pay them before you get your winnings, which is another part of this scam. Scammers will ask you to send them 'X' amount of dollars for taxes and processing and then tell you they will send you your winnings.
"That's not how it happens. The federal government and the state government will take their portion out of the winnings before it even gets to you. They will get their cut before you get your cut. We stress that to people. I've never put my name in to a drawing and had to pay for winnings. Now if I won a car, I am going to have to pay taxes on that, but I pay that at the courthouse when I go to register the vehicle. I don't pay the people who just gave me the car. Otherwise, that is just buying a car that's not winning a car."
Vagher recounted a recent scammer call to a potential victim.
"The same people (potential victims) called (last week) and said they had gotten a phone call from a federal agent (a scammer) and they needed money, because they were going to deliver this car today," Vagher said. "Guess what? There is no car. You have not won anything. These folks (scammers) are very convincing."
Scammers target a certain population.
"They are dealing with an older generation who is very trusting — it's horrible what they do to them," Vagher said. "These folks grew up in a time where you could trust people for the most part. It was a trusting community. A trusting society — back when these folks were young adults, coming into adulthood, and growing up as children. Social media — the internet has just ruined the ability to trust people anymore. It has also given these criminals another way to mess with potential victims.
"That's why I put out there if you are on the phone and someone tells you they are with the Ulysses Police Department and you question it, I encourage people to hang up. End that conversation. Call the office. Call the 3500 number and ask for that officer. If that officer is not on duty, that is a red flag.
"Next thing is, ask for the officer who is on duty. Say, 'Hey, have you guys been calling us? Have you been trying to get a hold of us?' We will make every attempt to come and see you in person, especially if you live here. I would much rather have face-to-face conversations than a conversation over the phone.
"If I'm already working a case we might have conversations over the phone or if I just have a quick question and I don't want to have to spend hours tracking you down — I'll just call you on the phone, get what I need and move on. But, I will never ask for payment over the phone. I'm never going to ask you to send money, and I'm not going to ask for your personal information. I'm going to obtain that from you when we are face-to-face so you can see who you are giving it to. That's how I do business and that's how I expect everyone in my agency to do business.
"Now is there a chance something could change there is. But if you think it's weird, hang up on them. Call the office and ask for the officer, that way you know who you are calling."
Calls don't always seem to be from a scammer.
"They are spoofing our number," Vagher said. "I was sitting talking to a lady and a phone call came across with our number 620-356-3500. I'm standing in the front lobby looking at my dispatcher — we have no other officers in the building. I said hold on and answered it on her phone. I said, 'This is Officer Vagher with the Ulysses Police Department. I would like to know how you're calling from my office, when the only two people who have access to the phones are right here in this room with me, right now. How are you calling from here?'
"They hung up. (Scammers) are even FaceTiming people. They just keep upping their game and the majority of them are from out of country, so we can't touch them once people send them money. The money is gone. There is no recovery, just gone."
According to Vagher, Ulysses Police Department gets calls regarding scams pretty much on a daily basis.
"The reason I put this one out there is because it specifically hit my agency," he said. "I wanted everybody to know we are not doing this. No law enforcement entity is going to do this. The IRS is not going to have you pay back taxes with Apple cards and iTunes cards. They are not going to do it. This is an easy way for (scammers) to get their money. They can be sitting in Zimbabwe talking to someone in Ulysses, Kansas.
"Once someone gives them the codes to their card and they drain the account, there is nothing we can do about it. The money is gone. I had a lady who drove around and bought $7,000 worth of iTunes cards. She hit multiple towns and multiple stores to get that much. After $5,000 worth of loss, she finally thought, 'Maybe I should talk to the cops about this.'
"These scammers are very convincing and the way you grew up plays into how you interact with these folks and they know it. They are predators. These are no different than pedophiles who groom children — it's the same mindset. The only thing is they aren't out looking for sexual gratification; they are looking for the monetary. They know who to prey on and unfortunately, nine times out of 10, it's always elderly individuals who are already living on a fixed income anyway."
Vagher recounted another scam he was familiar with.
"I know another lady whose mother was scammed out of more than $250,000," he said. "Now she can only live on Social Security. (Scammers) put you on an island and dangle that pretty little gift in front of you to get you involved with their scam. They don't want anybody there who will say, 'Wait a minute, this is not okay.'
"If they hear someone stepping in and intervening, they will hang up, wait for awhile, call back later and be like, 'Oh, we lost connection, but we need you to do this.' You have to question everything now."
According to Vagher, Ulysses Animal Control Officer Anne Langston has conducted fundraisers for the animals at the shelter.
"Other than what Anne does, law enforcement will never ask for money," Vagher reiterated. "When Anne does a raffle, you will talk to her. If you do pay law enforcement, it is generally at the law enforcement center, where you are bonding someone out or you're having a VIN inspection done.
"I know the sheriff's department and KHP will go to people's locations to do VIN inspections and take money then, but you are handing it to a police officer in person and they do the VIN inspection prior to collecting the money, so you have paperwork from a uniformed officer and that's what you are paying for. Officers don't keep it, because there is a form that goes into the state.
"As for my agency — we will never ask for money — never. The sheriff's department accepts bond money and VIN inspection money, but as far as I know, they aren't calling and asking for money. We are not going to deliver winnings. We are not going to do any of that."
Vagher wasn't even in town when one of the recent scams occurred with callers pretending to be him.
"I don't usually work weekends unless it is something important," he said. "We have to deal with this. There are horror stories all over where people have lost their family homes that they have lived in for 30, 40, 50 years. They no longer have a dime to their name, because these people have taken everything."
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