ROCKLAND – Weeks ago, a Rockport resident answered a phone call from a stranger who was pretending to be a relative. Months ago, an Appleton man received a voicemail telling him to wire money in order to resolve a matter with the Sheriff’s department. Years ago, a Camden man was duped out of large amounts of money by a supposed internet love.

In general, no singular demographic is the victim of these scams, according to Lt. Patrick Polky of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. For those Knox County residents who’ve resolved to be more charitable in 2018, be suspicious of who’s asking for money.

Polky and his partners spend a lot of time tracking scams. In fact, Polky himself called a number 27 times in one day, trying to get through to the entity that claimed to be his employer.

“It actually went to a voice system similar to what we have set up for this place,” he said. “For this agency press this number. For this department press this number. I even had elevator music and everything.”

When he found that the scammers refused to answer for restricted numbers, the law enforcers used their personal cell phones. However, the scammers had their own questions, then hung up and blocked their future calls when the cons realized they weren’t dealing with their intended demographic.

Many scammers are put through high-pressure sales training, according to Polky. They are educated in psychology, trained to research people and their families, and to dig deep into the human condition.

Last year a number of Knox County grandparents were affected by a nation-wide scam in which callers stated that the grandchild was in jail and needed money.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s becoming so lucrative that it’s worth it for those people to do that,” he said.

Two months ago the department received two or three calls where a person was showing them interest on the internet, then all of a sudden the person called them.

“The person who called them would say: ‘I’m a law enforcement officer and the person you’re communicating with is under age. You’re potentially in violation of federal juvenile sex crimes, You need to send us money.’”

In the case of the internet love scam two years ago, law enforcers tried persuading the victim that he was being conned. But the woman on the other end had created a strong emotional connection to blind him from rational thinking. Polky estimated that the victim lost more than $50,000 to the fraud.

“If you convert that into whatever currency in whatever country, that person is probably making the equivalent of millions,” he said. “It’s unbelievable, but that’s the incentive for them.”

Calls come from the Philippines, as well as Jamaica, known by Polky for lottery scams.

“Quite a few people had fallen victim to that one,” he said. “They had the hopes of winning all this money. They don’t realize that if I send them $500, then I’ll get a check for a million.”

That particular scam has faded recently, mostly because of the media coverage it garnered, Polky said. But that was only one scam in a continuous net of desperation and greed.

‘The problem is, even if we do identify where they are from, if that place has no law against that type of thing, we can’t prosecute. And a lot of times, they [countries] are not going to allow us to extradite for federal prosecution here. So it makes it very difficult.”

Knox County residents can report scams to any law enforcement agency. Depending on resources available, smaller police departments may still seek assistance from the county.

“Anytime anybody is a victim of these types of things, they can definitely call us,” said Polky. “But it doesn’t always mean that we’ll be able to resolve it for them.”

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com