Clara Goletto no longer answers calls from unknown numbers. The last time she did, she lost $2,500.
Her daughter had been arrested the night before, so a call from someone claiming to be “Deputy Humphrey” from the Oklahoma County jail did not sound impossible. Goletto was running on three hours of sleep and caring for her grandchildren when the call came, according to Oklahoma Watch reporting published by KGOU.
The caller knew Goletto’s name, her daughter’s name, and even her grandchildren’s names. Then he said her daughter had COVID-19 and that Goletto owed the jail $2,500 in related fees.
Goletto read her debit card information over the phone. The caller told her the jail only accepted debit cards. By the time she realized the call was fake, the money was gone.
The Scam Came Right After A Real Arrest
View this post on Instagram
Goletto already knew her daughter was in custody, and the caller used real family details to make the demand sound official.
After the $2,500 payment, the caller said there was another $900 charge on Goletto’s record that had to be cleared before her daughter could be eligible for bail.
Goletto tried to negotiate. When the people on the line said she could clear the final charge for $100, she knew something was wrong.
“Well, that was it,” Goletto told Oklahoma Watch. “There’s all my money. They just got me, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”
Oklahoma Bondsmen Say The Calls Are Getting Faster
Bail bond scams are not new, but Oklahoma bondsmen told Oklahoma Watch the latest calls are faster, more accurate, and harder to explain.
Jessica Hawkins, president of the Oklahoma County Bondsman Association, said the speed is different from the one-off scams bondsmen used to see around jails.
“This is something completely different because it’s lightning speed,” Hawkins told Oklahoma Watch. “This is different because it hasn’t been shut down.”
Scammers are reaching family members soon after arrests and asking for payments through Cash App, PayPal, and Apple Cash. Oklahoma Watch reported that emergency contacts and phone numbers are not supposed to appear on public jail blotters, yet relatives have been contacted within minutes of a booking.
Other Families Have Reported Bigger Losses
Goletto’s case was not the only one described by bondsmen.
Oklahoma County bondsman Heather Chambers recalled an 83-year-old woman who paid $7,777.68 to a man claiming to be Sergeant Briscoe with an Oklahoma County anger management course for inmates.
Another mother sent $2,000 through Apple Cash after a caller identifying himself as a lieutenant said her son had a place in a pretrial release program. Hours later, her son called and said he had not even been booked yet.
In another case, a woman was transferred from federal custody to the Canadian County jail. Within minutes of the booking, her cousin received a call demanding an electronic payment to bail her out. The scammer knew about the transfer before her family did.
The Attorney General’s Office Is Investigating
Bondsmen and victims have pushed authorities to take the calls more seriously.
In April, a bondsman wrote to the Oklahoma attorney general about a woman who had been scammed. The attorney general’s office is investigating, according to an agency spokeswoman cited by Oklahoma Watch.
Katie Tolbert, an Oklahoma City bondsman, also complained to the Oklahoma County Detention Center and the attorney general after a co-signer on one of her bond contracts was scammed out of thousands of dollars.
Tolbert wrote that the speed of the call and the booking-specific information raised concerns about possible misuse or unauthorized sharing of inmate intake information. No finding has been reported proving how scammers are getting the information.
The State Has Warned Families About Fake Bail Calls
The Oklahoma Insurance Department issued a public warning in March about scammers posing as bail bond agents.
The agency said callers may claim a relative has been arrested and needs money for bail, GPS monitoring, or other bond-related fees. The department advised families to verify the claim with the jail or a licensed bail bond company before sending money.
Families should not trust a caller simply because the person knows an inmate’s name, charge, booking detail, or relative’s phone number. A real bail payment should be checked through the jail, court, or a licensed bondsman using a number found independently, not a number provided by the caller.
Goletto eventually signed a legitimate bail bond contract with A Absolute Bonds. The fake call had already taken the $2,500.