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SALT LAKE CITY — You hear "car crash" and you think the worst.
Ora George said she got a text that read: "A car accident happen with someone you know please call back at this number."
Before she could dial back, the same number called. A male voice on the other end told her one of her family members had been in an accident with one of his family members, and the crash had occurred somewhere in Salt Lake City. In fact, the accident was so bad that the caller's cousin was lying in the road and was going to need to have his leg amputated.
It's a traumatic call, said retired FBI special agent Juan Becerra, but it's nothing more than a ruse to get the recipient to pay money.
Becerra, who works as a private investigator for Korr Defense Group, helped KSL Investigates gather information about the phone number that contacted George.
Here's what he found:
- The phone number was based out of New Jersey.
- The number changed hands and addresses at least three times in six months.
- The town it's registered in doesn't exist.
- The phone number was no longer in service when it was called at a later date.
- The caller couldn't keep the color of the car straight
- The caller couldn't keep the gender of the victim straight
- The caller couldn't name nearby buildings or the road where the accident had occurred
"Anything from car accidents to people being held hostage," Becerra said. "It's the shock effect they're hoping to capitalize on."
If George had not questioned the story, it's likely the caller would have eventually demanded she send money.
When George refused to give the caller names of her family members, he hung up. She contacted police, who assured her there was no major accident in the area. Then she called her son to check on him, that's when she broke down in tears.
George has been here before. Her father was killed by a drunk driver when she was 10 and her brother-in-law and sister-in-law were killed on I-15 in 2010.
Now she's sending her own message, warning others to be leery of the caller on the other end of the line. It's important to remember, when a bad accident happens involving a family member, it's usually police and not a civilian who will contact you.
