March 28, 2017
There are several scams that have been going around the past few years that target bail bond clients. The ones I have heard of are listed here:
- Someone calls you and tells you a family member is in jail in some other state and needs you to wire money to the bondsman to get them out. As bondsman we do call family members sometimes because the client is only able to make a few calls and most are collect but any reputable bondsman will encourage you to check call the jail or to check them out and will not pressure you to pay anything without verification.
- Someone calls a bail bond client who was recently released from jail and claims they are from the insurance company and demands that you wire money to them in another state to pay for the bond or you will be arrested immediately. Always call your actual local bondsman and verify I can’t think of any reason you would get a call from the insurance company asking for payment.
- We actually had a client tell people she worked for us and when they had a person get arrested they called her and she met them and pretended to do paperwork and took $500 cash from them. We found out who she was (used her real name and they knew her) and put her back in jail.
- We had a person call a few weeks ago asking when her boyfriend was getting released because she met someone in front of our office and did paperwork and gave them $500 for a bond. It wasn’t a bondsman. I asked her if she wondered why they didn’t come inside. She thought it was weird but trusted the friend who recommended her.
- A few years ago there was a woman who didn’t speak English who gave a person $1000 to bond her husband from jail because the woman claimed she worked for a bondsman and could get the bond done. This woman was in the country illegally and was afraid to report it.
- A person claims to be a deputy or police officer and tells you that you missed jury duty or have speeding tickets or whatever excuse they can come up with and states that you have a warrant and unless you give him a credit card number he will come and arrest you.
You should always call the Police and report anyone trying to scam you. It may save someone else from getting ripped off.
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