Scam targets former inmate out of jail on bond

NAPLES, Fla.- A new scam is targeting former inmates out of jail on bail.

The scammers are demanding money and claiming the victims will head back to jail if they don’t pay up quickly.

“It’s very scary because the money wasn’t there, especially when you have a family to take care of,” said a victim of the scam, who preferred not to be identified.

The woman was arrested last month for the first time. She said a day after posting bail, she received a frightening call.

“I got a call from an anonymous number stating I needed to wire her immediately $600 or my bond would be revoked and after that, I’d be incarcerated again by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and transferred back to the county I was in.”

The victim handed over the cash because the person claiming to be her bondsman knew all her information.

“As for the bondsman, as to where it was transferred at. They knew every detail about me as if they was the bondsman.”

Similar to other phone scams, she sent the money through a MoneyGram.

“She was frantic. She wired the money before she even called me, we found out the money went to Las Vegas,” said Mary Minor of Mary & Jimmy’s Bail Bonds who originally posted the woman’s bond.

The victim now has this advice for others, “before they send the money or wire the money call their bail agent or call the sheriff’s office.”

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office says this is the only incident that’s been reported to them, but there are victims in other counties in Florida.