How to avoid “BAIL” SCAMMERS in Orange County, California:
A modern day “Scammer” is a con-artist working to obtain profit by deceiving you into sending them money or access to money you provide. This type of Scam is usually initiated by phone call and often includes the names of relatives in various states of jeopardy.
We all know better than to send or express our social security number, bank account numbers, or credit card numbers unless we are going through a trusted source (the bank, the social security office, the direct payee, or other secure transaction). Scammers attempt to catch you at your weakest and coax a payment in the form of pre-paid cards or wire-transferred money to a source that cannot be traced. A common ploy is to call you pretending to be a family member or officially reporting to you that a family member is in legal trouble (in Jail or arrested). Information of such nature is derived from social media, previous detention history, or a random search of matching surnames. The scammer wants you to purchase a money card or pre-paid VISA CARD and to give them the card number and PIN number over the phone once you have made the purchase. At that point, the scammer has your money in the form of the card and there is little you can do to get it back.
ALERT: Law enforcement agencies require an “in-person” payment to post bail or fees for any incarcerated person. That person may be you, a licensed attorney or process server for that attorney, or an agent for a bail bond service like Mr. Nice Guy Bail Bonds.
ALERT: Threats of cash demand or bodily injury to a family member warrant kidnapping or extortion charges and should be reported to the FBI with all the information you can provide about the incident.
When someone reports to you that a family member is incarcerated you need to obtain the following information:
- the incarcerated person’s booking ID
- the Orange County facility where they are being detained
ALERT: A caller who cannot immediately supply this information is probably a scammer. DO NOT PURCHASE PRE-PAID CASH CARDS. All detention facilities in California process arrested persons with a booking number. Booking numbers may be confirmed by the detention facility or by Mr. Nice Guy service agents toll free at (844) 400-2245 or (949) 445-3420. Your relative should be locate-able by that number regardless of circumstances. No law enforcement, detention personnel, legal service provider or licensed bail agent will suggest that money be rendered immediately through a purchased card.
Even if you get a call from a recorded voice asking you to accept a call from a detention facility, it is not necessarily factual. Confirm that you are speaking to your relative get the booking id and the facility and then call Mr. Nice Guy Bail Bonds or the contact the Orange County facility itself to confirm that individual’s incarceration.
Your relative or loved-one might be in one of these facilities but by no means will any licensed legal service or licensed Bail Bonds agency suggest that providing the money immediately through a purchased card is your only option for payment.
Any issues of urgency or immediate need might be in direct relation to where your family member is being held. In some facilities where space is a premium, arrested persons may be transferred to a different facility within 48 hours of their arrest.
DON’T BE SCAMMED! No one in any licensed California legal or licensed bail agency will ever demand payment by phone and phone call back with Pre-paid card information. All parties operating under state licensed practice would not make such a demand.
TIP: We all have members of the family who might be prone to certain types of problems and may require additional help. Families should have an internal code word, or statement, that lets everyone know that they are truly speaking to a family member.
