Residents Falling Victim to Jail Inmate Phone Scam

A phone scam involving jail inmates tricking people into paying for their collect calls while in prison is on the rise in Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

The call starts off with a caller telling the victim that their relative is detained at the Pitchess Detention Center – an LA County jail facility. The caller tells the victim that they have been listed as their relative’s emergency contact and advises the victim to call them back by dialing *72 first, and then a number.

Dialing *72 before the phone number allows any incoming phone calls to the victim to be forwarded to the scammer’s phone number, including collect calls.

Glendora Police say that several Glendora residents have been victims of this growing scam.

According to LASD, victims can be scammed out of a lot of money in collect-call fees before they discover the scam.

California Public Utilities Commission advises residents who believe they may have been a victim to this scam to call their phone company to dispute the charges and report it to the California Public Utilities Commission’s consumer hotline at 800-649-7570.