{"id":1357,"date":"2022-04-18T13:33:17","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T17:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=1357"},"modified":"2022-11-09T14:08:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T19:08:40","slug":"legal-authority-imposters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/legal-authority-imposters\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Legal Authority Imposters<\/strong>&nbsp;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You are busy in your work, helping people with critical problems when you get the call, \u201c<em>There is a bench warrant against you for not appearing in court<\/em>.\u201d Your first thought might be, \u201cWhat does that even mean?\u201d Your second thought: \u201cHow do I make it go away?\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/04\/Legal-Authority-Scam-Alert-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"Legal Authority Scam Alert: Purports to be the police, sheriff, or other legal authority. Threatens legal action, arrest, or there's a warrant against you. Hang up on all threats and report them! Contact CAP 800-649-2424.\" class=\"wp-image-1358\" width=\"406\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption>Legal Authority Scam Alert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Consumer Assistance Program was recently notified about a rush of legal authority imposter scam calls reaching doctor\u2019s offices in the Rutland area. In the scams reported, caller identification numbers were spoofed to appear as the \u201cRutland County Sheriff.\u201d When doctors and staff questioned the legitimacy, they were told to \u201cgo ahead and call the sheriff directly.\u201d When some did, the scam was confirmed. There was no bench warrant and paying these criminals on the spot would have resolved nothing anyway.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What has been quite a surprise to these practitioners, has presented itself as one of the more common scams state-wide. In 2021, CAP recorded 277 reports of the Legal Authority Imposter Scam and nearly $200,000 in cumulative loss by six Vermonters. In this scam, a call comes in unexpectedly, claiming to be someone of legal authority: a sheriff, police officer, law office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for example. The caller expresses an urgent distressing problem, often threatening arrest, and eventually requests payment for the problem to go away.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What to do?<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Never send callers money, especially in response to threats or claims of legal action.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If you are concerned about a bench warrant, contact your legal counsel or the court directly.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Hang up on all threats and report them.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Know:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If you were going to be sued, the papers would be served without notice.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Harassing debt collection practice is unlawful, and collectors aren\u2019t allowed to make claims they can\u2019t or won\u2019t pursue. Learn more about your<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/credit-reports-and-debt-collection-what-are-your-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\"> rights<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Learn more about the process of law to avoid scams. Most typically, if ordered to pay an amount, even by the court, there will be a clearly outlined process to follow to ensure payment goes to the right place. When a scammer claims legal action, research what it is and is not.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is a bench warrant?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you fail to show up in court when required (usually you are served notice by mail or by a Sheriff by hand delivery prior to the required court appearance), the judge may order for you to be detained or arrested. A bench warrant is more likely to be granted when a criminal defendant is on bail, or a subpoenaed witness fails to show up for trial. The bench warrant essentially orders you to go appear before the <em>bench<\/em>. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/bench_warrant#:~:text=A%20bench%20warrant%20is%20a,not%20appear%20for%20trial%2C%20or\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cornell Law<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nolo.com\/legal-encyclopedia\/question-whats-bench-warrant-28274.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nolo.com<\/a>)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How do I make a bench warrant go away?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you actually have a bench warrant against you, contact your attorney or public defender. A bench warrant calls for your appearance in court, so your appearance in court is what is necessary\u2013and not the payment of funds like the scammers suggest.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stop all scams by following the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ago.vermont.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/romance-imposter-scams-2.png\" target=\"_blank\">SLOW Method<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"914\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/01\/SLOW-for-Imposter-Scams-1024x914.png\" alt=\"Slow Down: Scammers pressure you to act urgently. Don't! Log the Contact: Write down the info of the contact and disengage. One Call: Make one call to a primary contact and discuss the incident. Who Cares? Call CAP to identify and report scams at 1-800-649-2424.\" class=\"wp-image-1213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/01\/SLOW-for-Imposter-Scams-1024x914.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/01\/SLOW-for-Imposter-Scams-300x268.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/01\/SLOW-for-Imposter-Scams-768x686.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/01\/SLOW-for-Imposter-Scams-1536x1371.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/01\/SLOW-for-Imposter-Scams-2048x1828.png 2048w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/01\/SLOW-for-Imposter-Scams-336x300.png 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Slow method &#8211; Slow down, take steps to verify.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Report scams to the Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) through <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ago.vermont.gov\/cap\/stopping-scams\/\" target=\"_blank\">CAP\u2019s online scam reporting form<\/a> or by calling 1-800-649-2424.&nbsp;Learn more about imposter scams on our imposter scam prevention video and resource page: <a href=\"https:\/\/ago.vermont.gov\/imposter-scams\/\">ago.vermont.gov\/imposter-scam<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The legal authority imposter scam has presented itself as one of the more common scams state-wide. In 2021, CAP recorded 277 reports of the Legal Authority Imposter Scam and nearly $200,000 in cumulative loss by six Vermonters. In this scam, a call comes in unexpectedly, claiming to be someone of legal authority: a sheriff, police officer, law office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for example. The caller expresses an urgent distressing problem, often threatening arrest, and eventually requests payment for the problem to go away.  Stop all scams by following the SLOW Method.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4480,"featured_media":1422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[704846,704845,639468,704865,639477,704841,402199,704844,481474,494301,505456,704838,704840,639494,401813,484616,482450,704837,704866,639489,704843,704842],"class_list":["post-1357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-slow-2","tag-slowdown","tag-stopscams-2","tag-stopscamswithslow","tag-takestepstoverify","tag-arrest","tag-cap","tag-collection","tag-consumer","tag-consumer-assistance-program","tag-elder-protection-initiative","tag-lawyer","tag-legal-action","tag-legal-authority-imposter","tag-police","tag-scam","tag-scams","tag-sheriff","tag-slow-down-and-follow-a-plan-to-not-get-scammed","tag-slow-method","tag-threats","tag-warrant","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1357"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1530,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357\/revisions\/1530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}