Police Warn of Rise in Yule Con Games

‘Tis the season to be wary.

So say local law enforcement officials, who warn citizens that they face a blue Christmas unless they are cautious of con artists who view the holidays as an opportunity to take advantage of the season’s good will and need.

Although the numbers are difficult to chart because most scams go unreported, law enforcement officials say they have noticed a surge in the number of people complaining of being conned during the holiday season.

The reason seems to lie in the need for extra money for gifts or the urge to help someone less fortunate, leading people to trust the wrong people.

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department says the number of people reporting being duped has risen from about one a month to two or three a week since the holiday season began. And the San Diego Police Department has reported at least five cases of people being bilked this month alone.

“We see more of (these scams) during the holiday season, because it is a time when people have more money than any other time of the year,” said police spokesman Bill Robinson. “These things happen because of the person’s desire to help, or their greed.”

Robinson says some of the con games citizens have reported include:

* The Jamaican switch, in which a con man supposedly is carrying a huge bundle of money (actually newspaper wrapped in blocks), and offers to let the victim in on a percentage of the money if he will guard it until a safe hiding place can be found.

The only stipulation is that the victim must give the con artist some good faith money while he scouts a location. The con artist never returns.

* The pigeon drop, similar to the Jamaican Switch, involves the victim going to a bank or credit union to get a larger amount of cash as good faith money. One woman lost almost $2,000 in such a scam.

* The bank examiner scam: One 90-year-old widower was duped out of $4,000 after a con artist saw the widower’s name listed in an obituary and called him saying that he was a bank examiner and needed help in catching an untrustworthy bank employee.

The man gave him the contents of his bank account to mark as bait for the imaginary bank employee, and the con artist got away.

Other scams reported by the Sheriff’s Department include the UPS (United Postal Service) scam, in which the con artist goes into a neighborhood dressed in a UPS uniform and asks a homeowner if he will accept a COD package for his neighbor. The homeowner pays the man, and there are usually only rocks in the package.

Similar con games include people offering to sell electronic equipment for cash only at half price. When they arrive home, there are only rocks in the box.

Con games “really escalate during the holiday season because someone is trying to make a quick buck, and the average person wants to make something for nothing, said Sheriff’s Detective Dick Rabell. “People should remember that, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”