Fraudulent ‘Examiner’ At Work In Spokane

A man using a familiar “bank examiner” scam is targeting elderly residents in the Spokane area again, police said.

The con artist tells people a teller at their bank is illegally taking money from their accounts and asks for help.

The victims are told to withdraw money - usually $4,800 in cash - and drop it off with an “examiner.” The drop-off location is usually a busy parking lot, police said.

In the latest scheme, reported May 11, a man claimed to work for Seafirst security and asked an 81-year-old woman to drop the money off in the Safeway parking lot at 29th Avenue and Southeast Boulevard.

The thief tells victims not to tell anyone about the plan. In one case, he called a woman at home to congratulate her and asked her to withdraw more money to repeat the process, police said.

The thief is believed to be a white man in his 50s with a deep voice. He may be the man who was pulling off similar scams in Spokane several months ago, police said.

Police recommend that people question any requests to withdraw money from a bank account.

Anyone with information on similar frauds are asked to call Crime Check, (509) 456-2233.