CHICO — Our scammer this week decided to go through “Inception” levels of trickery.
Last week, Chico resident Joyce Bladorn reached out to me warning of a scam with layers to it. On the surface, it seemed like another gift card scam but with the twist that the scammer in question was asking for funding to help catch and stop scammers.
That’s right, a scam about hunting scammers.
After speaking with Bladorn a bit about the scam she encountered, I was surprised that this one didn’t come up sooner. I never would have thought about this type of scam but it seems obvious in a world full of different ways of scamming.
Bladorn said she was initially lured in by a man claiming that he was going to use the money and her help to catch scammers. That promise fell through immediately and the man disappeared with her information. Fortunately, Bladorn was able to recover but wanted to put out a warning.
As someone who writes about scams, I can imagine how tempting this one could be. If you read this column it’s likely you or someone you care about has a vested interest in stopping scammers, and if someone offered to catch them then that’s an even better scenario.
That said, there are government departments as well as teams in the private sector who work specifically on busting scammers without you having to pay them directly. If someone calls you or emails asking for money in order to catch a potential scammer, that person likely is the scammer. The call is coming from inside the house so to speak.
I want to give a shoutout to Bladorn for reaching out with this scam to ensure others don’t get roped in. This one could definitely be tricky in the moment.
Stay safe out there folks.
Scam of the Week generally runs every Tuesday. Readers are welcome to contact reporter Jake Hutchison to report scams and potential scams they have come in contact with by calling 828-1329 or via email at [email protected].
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