How 2 Phone Scammers Got a Darien Woman to Wire them $7,900

Written by David Gurliacci

A 49-year-old Darien woman, rattled when someone calling himself a federal Drug Enforcement Administration official told her she could be arrested, wired $7,900 in "fines."

Then she came to her senses and went — too late — to Darien police with the story at 9:52 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23. 

Here's the police account of what happened, based on what the woman told them:

The woman received a call on her answering machine from a man identifying himself as Manuel Hilario Medina and claiming to be from the "Justice Bureau of the Drug Enforcement Administration," the federal agency tasked with investigations into illegal narcotics.

When she called, the man told her the DEA was working on an investigation involving illegal sales of Vicodin, a prescription narcotic. If she didn't "rectify the situation," she was told, the DEA would apply for a warrant for her arrest.

She called back the number, and the man told her that she had bought Vicodin which had been illegally imported from the Dominican Republic sometime within the past 10 years — the length of a supposed DEA investigation conducted from the agency's Miami and New York City offices.

(The woman later told Darien police she had bought the drug online at some point in the past. It isn't necessarily illegal to do so, and town police didn't charge her with any crimes.)

The caller said the woman needed to pay a fine of $3,600 or be arrested. He told her she needed stay on the phone and drive to her bank to get the money, which she did, and then wire the money, which she also did in the form of two $1,800 wire transfers. She was on the phone with him the whole time.

More

Then the man transferred the call to a female, a purported DEA official who identified herself as "Gladys Reyes Acevedo." The woman told the victim there was bad news: She didn't meet the deadline to pay the money. Therefore the fine was increased and she was to pay another $4,300.

The woman said she'd try to get the victim an extension to pay the fine and put the victim on hold. The woman returned to the phone later to say the extension had been denied.

The victim again went to her bank, removed $4,300 more and wired that in three Western Union transfers. The victim was told not to say why she was wiring the money if anyone asked, since this was all part of a sensitive government investigation.

How to keep this from happening to you

Patch asked Darien police what advice to give to readers if they're ever  tempted, for whatever reason, to wire money to strangers. Police said one thing you can do is first independently confirm who you're dealing with. 

You can always ask for contact information and then independently confirm a phone number on the Internet, then call that number you've confirmed. It takes minutes. If you can't do it yourself, get help from someone you trust.

Think about it: Who really needs your money so fast that they can't wait?

A DEA Fraud Alert

The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's Office of Diversion Control's website has an extortion scam alert in the fraud.

"Impersonating a federal agent is a violation of federal law," the alert says. "The public should be aware that no DEA agent will ever contact members of the public by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment."

The DEA tells those who receive a call from an impersonator to refuse to send any money and to report the scam by filling out a form at this link.

The DEA also warns citizens to use caution when purchasing controlled substance pharmaceuticals by telephone or through the Internet:

It is illegal to purchase controlled substance pharmaceuticals online or by telephone unless very stringent requirements are met. And, all pharmacies that dispense controlled substance pharmaceuticals by means of the internet must be registered with DEA. By ordering any pharmaceutical medications online or by telephone from unknown entities, members of the public risk receiving unsafe, counterfeit, and/or ineffective drugs from criminals who operate outside the law. In addition, personal and financial information could be compromised.