By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
An alert Saline County Sheriff's deputy put a damper on a scammer's attempt to bilk him of some bucks, and now he's warning others about the scam.
Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan provided an account of the incident from the deputy, who on Monday received an automated call claiming to be from Amazon.
In his report about the incident, the deputy wrote that the call was "very well put together, sounding like something a professional company would use."
The automated part of the call informed the deputy that the company was concerned because multiple attempts to purchase a MacBook had been made from four locations, and the company just wanted to confirm that it was him attempting to purchase the laptop. If he was not the person allegedly attempting to purchase the MacBook, he was to press 2 and speak with an alleged Amazon rep.
The deputy reported that he pressed 2 "to see where it was going" and was connected with a woman who "spoke excellent English but still had an accent." In the background, he could hear typical call center noises. The woman feigned concern about the alleged matter and asked for some basic information, including how to spell his name, what his zip code was, and what items he had ordered. He gave the woman his first name and zip code.
"When I get these phone calls, I try to waste their time a little before they hang up," the deputy wrote.
When he said, "You guys are good," she hung up.
"The call was the best attempt at a scam I have experienced to date, and I have no doubt they have had success getting people to fall for the scam," the deputy noted.
In fact, the deputy thought the scam was "put together well enough" that people should be warned about it.