[August 22, 2010] Scam targets military families: Caller seeks money for jailed soldier Tweet Aug 22, 2010 (The Dominion Post - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A phone call about a jailed relative serving in the military in Afghanistan caused great anxiety for Monongalia County resident Barbara Myers. Then she found out it was a scam. "This just really stressed me out," Myers said. Myers said she received a phone call Thursday from someone claiming to be a relative. The "relative" serves in the Army and said he was in jail oversees. He said he was in a bad accident and needed money to get out of jail. The relative sounded scared and nervous, Myers said. She added she was "scared to death." Myers said she asked to talk to an officer. An "officer" got on the phone and asked if she could provide a credit card. Myers said she couldn't. She insisted that she would have to talk to the relative's wife. When she said that, the callers said they didn't want to get the family involved, Myers said. Then they hung up. Myers said she doesn't have Caller ID so she didn't know where the call came from. Myers said she then called her son who is in the U.S. Army and stationed in Kansas. He told her that it was a scam. He also said if the relative was in trouble she would be the first to know. Monongalia County Sheriff Al Kisner said that a few months ago the department received information about a scam during which callers said a person's grandson was in jail and he needed money for bail.But they haven't had anything recently. Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a spokesperson, for the U.S. Army said that he hadn't heard of a scam like the one that involved Myers. However, the Army has informed its troops about other possible scams. Law enforcement officials have repeatedly warned residents to never give personal or financial information, including credit card data, to anyone on the telephone. To see more of The Dominion Post or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dominionpost.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]