We have an alert for you about scam calls on the rise in Michigan. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a warning that callers are posing as DEA agents.
John Evans, a podiatrist in Allen Park, said he received a disturbing call at his office on March 27. The message was supposedly from a DEA agent investigating him.
"There was an abandoned car that was found in southeast Texas that had over 50,000 tablets of controlled substances in it," Evans said.
The caller claimed when they traced the car, it led investigators to two homes in southern Texas filled with drugs, cash, guns and his medical information and name.
“What was [the caller] implying?” I asked.
“The implication was that I was involved with a drug smuggling organization," Evans said.
After 40 minutes on the phone, being accused of money laundering, drug trafficking, and even overdose deaths, he was worried.
“At this point, I'm thinking this is not this is not good for me," he said.
But then, the caller told him he may have been a victim of identity theft and needed him to call back the next day to help with the investigation.
That night, Evans looked up the agents' names on LinkedIn and messaged one of them. Thankfully, that agent got a message through to the DEA office in Detroit. They contacted Evans to let him know the callers were imposters.
"Are these scammers only targeting doctors?” I asked Kathy Federico with the DEA Detroit Field Division.
"It seems to be mostly the doctors and the retail pharmacies," Federico said.
According to Federico, the scam has been around for 2 1/2 years nationally but is now gaining steam in Michigan with at least 10 calls in recent weeks.
"What are the scammers after?” I asked.
"They're usually two different things," Federico said. "They're going to tell you that you are under investigation and they're going to want money to make the investigation go away," she said.
The second scheme she said is to get personal identifying information from employees who work with pharmacies or hospitals.
The DEA said if you receive a suspicious call from someone claiming to be a DEA agent, do not answer any questions, hang up, and report the scam to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.govand to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov. You can also call the DEA Detroit division directly at 313-234-4000.
Evans said he is just relieved he contacted a real DEA agent, and the whole ordeal is over.
The FBI is responsible for investigating government impersonation crimes.
Last year alone, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, nearly 300 Michiganders reported being victims of government impersonation scams.
The losses from those individuals totaled more than $3-million.
It's important to understand that DEA agents and law enforcement agencies will never call you on the phone to tell you you're under investigation or try to get money out of you to make an investigation go away.
