That 'deputy' is just a jerk in Pocatello
Last week five different consumers called me with the same complaint: A man called them representing himself as a deputy sheriff. In each case, in a very ominous and threatening tone, he informed the consumer that they had ignored a summons to jury duty, and a warrant had been issued for their immediate arrest. The “deputy” advised them that they could avoid arrest by purchasing Visa gift cards and providing the sheriff’s office with the numbers for payment of their “fines.”
Consumers, to begin with, and let me repeat from a previous column, the authorities DO NOT call you to warn you about an impending arrest. Think about it — this would vastly reduce the number of people they could arrest. Also, government authorities, or for that matter, any legitimate attorney or law firm does not accept payment in Visa gift cards.
I called the scammer identifying himself as a deputy sheriff. Sure enough, he answered the phone, “Kootenai Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Sheriff Rice speaking.” I asked the “deputy” for his exact location so I could send a real deputy sheriff around for him to give him a ride to the real Kootenai County jail. He hung up on me. I immediately called him back and told him that HE was going to jail and that his number, name and location had been traced. He hung up again.
I called back right away (I’m sure we had just been cut off). This time I asked him how the weather was in Pocatello (the calls’ originating location) and again explained that he had been identified. The “deputy” called me a few names I cannot print here and hung up. After that I continued to call him every few hours. Due to my current bout of insomnia, I also called him at 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. For some reason he didn’t answer. I could just imagine him hearing the phone ring and being afraid to pick it up.
The message to scammers and crooks is this: It’s YOUR turn to be afraid. Consumers need to fight back.
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BILL’S RANT: “Bill’s rant” will be a new weekly feature of my column. This week it concerns the telephone system at the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. I know consumers are all too familiar with the ubiquitous “telephone tree” that almost every large company, bureaucracy or government office uses to “help” callers. To call the sheriff’s answering system, a telephone tree is a misnomer. It’s a telephone swamp.
A deputy did call me. He was very helpful. Later in the day, I mentioned the occurrence to a county commissioner. He told me he had no problem getting through to the sheriff on his private number. I informed the commissioner that we, (the public, the voters and citizens), don’t have the sheriff’s private number.
The sheriff and his administrative staff should keep in mind that often when people call his department, they are upset and/or under stress. The first option should be, “If you need to talk to a person, please press one.” That person, with a little training, could efficiently transfer the caller to the correct department. I spent 15 minutes on the phone trying to get to the right person to talk about the “deputy” who was calling consumers.
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QUICK TIP: The Computer Guy from Hayden informs me that if you get one of those ransom messages on your computer, just unplug the computer and wait a few minutes, then plug it back in. In 95 percent of cases it will solve your problem. DO NOT call the number on your screen. If you feel compelled to call someone — call me.
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UPDATE: Poopy diapers. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about bringing dogs that were not service dogs into food stores. One caller let me know that it wasn’t the dogs she worried about — it was the infants with “poopy” diapers sitting in the child seat that had the potential to spread germs and yuck. Point taken. Be sure to use the sanitary wipes provided at the front of the store to wipe down your cart’s child seat and handle.
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How do we fight back? I was receiving an inordinate amount of junk mail when I lived in the Bush of Alaska. I wrote, I called, I begged the biggest offenders to please take me off their mailing list. They didn’t. I decided to take direct action. For about a week I saved all my junk mail. I then carefully pulled out the “first class postage guaranteed” envelopes. I then used packing tape to secure the envelope to cinder blocks. That week I mailed 12 cinder blocks by first class mail to the “Lower 48.”
The junk mail stopped, at least from the 12 biggest offenders. (P.S. The postal inspector did call me and advised me not to do that again. However, he was laughing when he warned me.) There is an excellent app called PaperKarma for your smart phone that will advise junk mailers to not send you mail through U.S. Postal Service. It works.
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Due to space limitations, I can’t detail or even bring to your attention all the cases I’ve worked on in the past couple of weeks. I will be detailing many more on the blog. I choose the cases to write about based on the number of calls I get and the amount of money involved. If I haven’t used your case, please understand and continue to call me.
I’m in your corner — remember that. The Coeur d’Alene Press makes this column possible. It wouldn’t hurt to thank them. Let them know you’re out there. An email or Letter to the Editor is the best way.
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I have many more interesting cases that I’m working on as The CDA Press Consumer Guy. Call me at (208) 449-7222, email me at CDAPressConsumerGuy @gmail.com or fax me at (866) 362-9266. Also include your full name and a phone number. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups.
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Bill Brooks is the CDA Press Consumer Guy. He is an active Associate Real Estate Broker for Tomlinson-Sotheby’s International Realty in Coeur d’Alene.