Panic is likely your first reaction when your loved one is about to be put in jail. Along with the confusion, you may feel anxious and rush to get your loved one out of jail. Unfortunately, bail bond scammers are always looking to feed off your vulnerability.
Falling prey to a bond scam makes fighting a case much more challenging. Therefore, you need to know how to identify bail bond scams so you can avoid them. Read on to learn about the most common bail bond scams to watch out for.
Fake Emergency
Commonly known as the “grandparent scam,” scammers can use fake emergencies to rip you off. Because the elderly tend to be more willing to answer the phone and are more trusting, most scammers play into the emotions of senior citizens.
With this scam, an anonymous person would typically call requesting bail money to get your grandchild or other relatives out of jail. Scammers may have accessed publicly available data about your family members. This means that scammers may call you by name and know your address or other information.
Scammers tend to impersonate figures of authority such as the police, lawyers, or doctors to sound authentic and persuasive. They may say that the matter is urgent, needs to be attended to immediately, or has to be a secret. That way, the scammers push you into acting without much afterthought.
A bail agent is only legally allowed to call an individual at the request of the jailed individual. If you happen to get a family emergency call, from someone you don’t know immediately hang up. Call the family member allegedly in trouble and confirm if they are okay. Check with a friend or family in your close circle for the truth, even if the caller asked you not to share.
Spoofing Websites
Website spoofing is a criminal activity where a scammer creates a website that closely resembles a trusted brand and domain. Website spoofing scammers aim to lure unsuspecting customers to a fake website and trick them into revealing sensitive information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc.
Bail bond scammers may spoof an inmate locator or government website to gather contact information on the accused that the scammer can later use for fake emergency call scams. To avoid such scams, always double-check the URL of the website you are feeding the defendant information.
Unlicensed Activity
Licensing is needed to operate legally as a bail bondsman in the state. Acting as a bondsman or performing any functions of a bondsman without a license is against the law.
Ask for proof of licensure when dealing with a bail agent. The agent should be able to provide you with their bail license number easily, and you can go online to verify.
You should steer clear of any agent who gets defensive or cannot provide proof of their licensing. Bail bond agents worth working with will gladly provide credentials upon request.
Solicitation
Bail bond companies naturally advertise to make their company known. However, a bail bond agent cannot solicit bail services in any jail, prison, or other places of detention. Bail bond agents may also not roam the halls of any court or public institution connected with the administration of justice looking for clients.
Bondsmen who scour detention for clients are breaking the laws and standards that regulate the bail services sector. Ideally, you or your loved one should be the one to contact the bail bond company. If a bail bond company is actively soliciting in a no-soliciting zone, you should be skeptical of their services.
Bail bond scams can be hard to recognize during times of crisis. However, do not hesitate to contact a bondsman or work with one when posting bail. Just make sure to ask questions to educate yourself, especially when dealing with a bondsman for the first time. Contact Hand in Hand Bail Bonds today for fast, professional, and trusted bail bond services.
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