'He had all the right answers': Decatur woman shares close call with convincing scam

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — The Better Business Bureau is warning central Illinois residents to stay alert as scam reports continue to climb, with officials saying criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the way they target victims.

According to the Better Business Bureau serving Central Illinois, scam reports in Illinois have increased by over 65% this year. In just the last 90 days, Illinois consumers have lost more than $1 million to scams, with online shopping fraud and romance scams leading the list of reported schemes.

While online shopping scams affect consumers of all ages, Jessica Tharp, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Central Illinois, said scammers are also exploiting trust through fake relationships that often begin on social media.

"They develop a relationship with them and eventually start sending them lots and lots of money," Tharp said, noting scammers frequently impersonate celebrities or even former classmates.

The BBB is also seeing an increase in debt elimination scams. Tharp recalled one recent central Illinoisan who was convinced to open multiple new credit card accounts after being falsely told a government task force would eliminate her debt because interest rates above 6% were supposedly illegal.

"They assured her that in August, all of these things were going to come to a head and all credit card debt was going to be eliminated," Tharp said. "So this is an example of the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

For lifelong Decatur resident Nicole Garner, a recent scam became frighteningly personal. Garner told WAND News she received what appeared to be a phone call from the Macon County Sheriff's Office informing her she had missed jury duty.

"Initially, when it had come through, I ignored it ... it came back through, I read it, and so I instantly was worried."

The caller knew personal details about Garner, including information about her family, where she lived and both her maiden and married names.

"Once he started to give more details about who I was and my personal information, it drew me in," Garner said. "Now I'm aware that they know me, myself and my family and where we live."

The scammer claimed Garner had missed jury duty and instructed her to immediately report to the courthouse. He told her there was a "tracker" on her phone and ordered her not to hang up.

"He had me write all this information down," Garner said. "I needed to write the address down, that I was immediately to leave my house and go to the courthouse."

Garner said the elaborate story made the scam believable.

"He had all the right answers. He had a badge number. He knew everything about Decatur. He knew where to go. The depth of the story gets so believable."

Fortunately, Garner texted her son, who works for the sheriff's department, while still on the phone. After checking the badge number, deputies confirmed it did not exist and instructed her to hang up immediately.

Garner later shared her experience on social media, where her post has been viewed more than 40,000 times. She said her goal was to help prevent someone else from becoming a victim.

"I did not want anybody else to experience this," Garner said. "If it just even helps one person, that's what I want out of it. I want as many people to hear it as possible so that way, they're prepared for that phone call if and when it happens."

She said the experience changed her perspective on scams.

"You hear the stories and you're like, 'I wouldn't fall for that,'" Garner said. "But when it actually happens, it's a totally different situation."

Tharp echoed that message, stressing that no one is immune.

"Education is the number one way to protect yourself from a scam," she said. "Every single one of us is targeted in scams."

She recommends researching unfamiliar online retailers before making purchases, using credit cards instead of debit cards for added fraud protection and being skeptical of unsolicited calls, emails and text messages asking for money or personal information.

If residents suspect they are being targeted, the BBB encourages them to contact its office before taking action.

"The old adage, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Tharp said.

Even if victims cannot recover their money, Tharp said reporting scams remains critical because the BBB shares information with agencies including the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to help identify patterns and support investigations.

The Macon County Sheriff's Office has posted on Facebook several times this year about scams involving someone impersonating a deputy or member of the sheriff's office. The department has shared that it would never contact a person by phone and demand money, threaten arrest, or attempt to resolve a warrant.