LIBERTY, Mo. — Authorities in Clay County continue to see a rising trend in scams.
For one Kansas City woman, it all started with a phone call. Lucia Hanna was contacted by an individual posing as a family member.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Marlon Martinez
“There was this person who advised me that it was my daughter and sobbing and crying," Hanna said.
The caller, playing as Lucia's daughter, told her she was involved in an accident with another individual and was being held at the courthouse.
“They said I couldn't see her until I paid the bail. And at this point, it was all about the bail," Hanna said.
Little did Hanna know, she was part of a scam.
"... They told me that they talked the judge down from $25,000 to $15,000," she said. "My first thought was, 'Oh, thank God. I'm gonna be able to get money.' I had a little fund I had set aside for years."
Hanna went to her bank where she was instructed by the caller not to answer any questions. After withdrawing $15,000, Hanna was shocked by what she learned.
"I was going to go out to the courthouse to get my daughter and she calls me and I am like, 'You sound different. You don't sound like you did,'" she said.
Her daughter replied, "Mom, what are you talking about? There is nothing wrong with me."
"That's when I realized I had been scammed," Hanna said.
Clay County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Chris Johnson said scammers typically contact the most vulnerable.
“It happens more often than we like to think. It's a daily occurrence," Johnson said. "They're constantly out there doing it."
As a result, the county has been working diligently with other agencies to track scams.
Johnson said it's vital people report scams immediately.
“The more information that we put out on a daily, monthly basis, the better off it is," he said. "Hopefully it will start deterring some of this activity.”
While scams continue to grow across Kansas City, Hanna wants others to stay vigilant.
“Be leery of everything," Hanna said. "Be on guard, and don't think it can't happen to you.”
—
