Law Enforcement Impersonators: Cindy’s Story
A scammer posing as Europol officer tells her she’s been a victim of a crime, but turns out to be the actual criminal.
This story is part of Operation Shamrock’s Survivor Stories series.
Cindy knows what’s happening in China. She’s a brilliant university researcher who lived there for five years and who routinely does things like brief the FBI on Chinese threats. So it’s not that Cindy isn’t aware that transnational criminal organizations are operating in Asia and elsewhere. When scammers deploy extensively researched, carefully choreographed, and psychologically powerful tactics, though, knowing that scams exist isn’t always enough.
A Call from a Europol
Cindy lives in Central Europe, but was vacationing and working remotely on beautiful islands in the North Atlantic. Suddenly, her tropical paradise was interrupted by multiple phone calls and messages.
“These people are working continuously to improve.”
Someone claiming to be a Europol officer was calling to let Cindy know she’d been the victim of a crime. An empty rental car had been found with multiple documents in her name that pointed toward drug sales and money laundering. There was even evidence of violence. The officer issued Cindy a case number and advised her that because the criminals clearly had access, the money in her bank accounts wasn’t safe.
Cindy was thousands of miles from home and someone claiming to be a police officer was advising her to take immediate action. Urgency and the fear of being falsely linked to a criminal operation are powerful motivators. That’s why scammers employ these tactics.
It’s easy to say that Cindy should’ve been suspicious. And she was. She is a trained researcher, so she went digging for information. She checked her bank’s website for information about scams and Googled to find out if anyone had information about a scam like this. She didn’t find anything. So Cindy took what seemed like a logical step for someone in her situation: She cooperated with a person who seemed to be a legitimate law enforcement officer and followed his advice.
Scammers Increase the Pressure and Urgency
The fake Europol officer connected Cindy with someone else who would guide her through the process of moving her money to safe accounts. He started by ensuring Cindy was alone and that their conversation wouldn’t be interrupted. He cautioned her not to discuss the situation with anyone. Isolating a victim like this is another common tactic scammers use to ensure they won’t be found out before they’ve done their damage.
“I felt like a frog thrown into boiling water.”
The scammer kept stressing the need to take immediate action. Cindy only had so much time before the criminals drained her accounts. When they weren’t speaking on the phone, the scammer was sending WhatsApp messages urging Cindy to move faster.
The psychological tactics worked. “I felt like a frog thrown into boiling water,” said Cindy. “It felt like my brain was cooking.”
The Impersonators Succeed
Ultimately, the scammers guided Cindy through the process of making multiple small transactions to “safe” accounts. Over three days, she initiated 10 separate transactions to move more than $35,000. At no point did her bank or the platforms she was using raise any red flags. No one asked why she was moving money. She was never cautioned that a pattern of such transactions is common in scam situations.
In hindsight, Cindy recognizes the psychological tactics the scammers used effectively against her. “These people are working continuously to improve,” she said.
The organizations running these scams are highly sophisticated and immense. Operation Shamrock is working to help financial institutions, law enforcement, and government agencies collaborate more effectively in stopping scammers. Join us.
Do you have a survivor story? Connect with our team to share your experience.
