PORT ANGELES — A phone scam that began in February has ramped up again, and has claimed three more victims.
Strait-View Credit Union Vice President Kandy Peterson said that between $3,000 and $4,000 was stolen from three bank accounts last weekend.
Peterson said those were the first thefts blamed on the scam since late April.
That brings the total stolen from Strait-View accounts to between $11,200 to $12,200 in Clallam County by scammers in the last three months.
Quimper Community Federal Credit Union in Jefferson County also has been hit by the scam.
Quimper CEO Debbie Greenspane said in late April that about $2,500 was stolen from accounts through the same scam.
Greenspane could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Jefferson County Sheriff Tony Hernandez and Port Townsend Sgt. Ed Green said that they have not heard of any more scam reports since late April.
To date, about 16 accounts with Quimper and Strait-View have had money stolen through the scam.
The financial institutions do not reimburse the stolen funds since the account information was voluntarily given out by customers.
The scammers operate by dialing land lines and cell phones within in their target area.
The automated calls, which have gone out across Clallam County and East Jefferson County, say they’re with one of the financial institutions, that there is a problem with their Strait-View or Quimper account, and asks the recipient of the phone call to key-in their debit card number and password.
The scammers target people by numbers they have accumulated, no matter if they’re a customer of those two financial institutions or not.
But when they get a Quimper or Strait-View customer on the line, and they provide their account information, the scammers then likely use that information to create a replica card and make withdrawals, Port Angeles Police Officer Duane Benedict has said.
Said a frustrated Peterson: “It’s just, people don’t think.”
The Port Angeles Police Department no longer is pursuing an active investigation on the phone scam, and Benedict asked that people who receive phone scam calls do not report them to the police.
The Port Angeles police sent a report to the FBI. No word has been received on the FBI’s investigation.
Calls to the FBI’s Silverdale office and a spokesperson in Seattle on Friday were not returned.
The scam is not constant, Peterson said.
“There have been lulls, then all of a sudden it picks up again with a vengeance,” Peterson said.
“Then it backs off again. It depends on whether people feel vulnerable I guess.”
Benedict said the scam has ramped up again in the last 10 days.
He said Strait-View had not reported the recent thefts to him.
Peterson said scammers are now also seeking people’s credit card information.
Not knowing when the scam may stop, she said Strait-View is simply trying to live with it.
“We have to,” Peterson said. “There’s no guarantee when it stops, when it will start again.”
In the meantime, she said, Strait-View will continue to try to educate its customers about the scam.
Ron Cameron, chief criminal deputy with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, said he wasn’t aware of any new scam reports but gave the same advice as everyone else: don’t give personal information out over the phone.
“We want them to just ignore it,” he said.
Peterson and Greenspane have said that those who give account information out over the phone should contact their bank or credit union immediately to prevent funds from being stolen.
Benedict has said that many of the thefts occur within 30 minutes.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
