Identifying Bail Bond Fraud Isn’t Hard. You Can Expose It Simply By Asking The Right Questions!

Being a bail bonds company comes with responsibility to protect the community where we work by helping you. We would like to teach people that identifying bail bond fraud helps the community as whole. 

There are a few key things to remember when working with anyone that claims to be a Florida bail bondsman. Bail bondsmen are required to be licensed under Florida law.

Scam 1

Fraudsters call this scam the Grandma Scam. This is when con artists will target the elderly. They tell them their grandchild is in jail and needs to have bail money. The fake grandchild will tell the grandparent that the family member they used their one call to contact the bondsman. As a result, the bail bondsman is calling grandma on the “defendant’s” behalf.

The fake bail bondsman will tell the grandparent what the “bond amount” is. They will then demand payment for the bond fee. This will all be done on the phone. Often the con artist will attempt to have the money sent via cash app or online app. These apps do not have a protest feature.

If that is unavailable the con artist will sometimes offer to pick up the cash face to face. Under no circumstances will a professional bondsman work this way or use these types of methods.

One thing to remember is jail information is available on the public record. We recommend calling the jail to verify that the person is actually in their jail. the jail. Deputies at the jail will also tell you what the bail amount is. The jailers will give you that information. They will also tell you if there is a need for a bail bondsman. Secondly, be sure to only hire a licensed bail bondsman.

Scam 2

Court records are open to the public. As a result, some con artists will use this information to obtain charges. The fraudster will also have the name of the bonding company that has signed a bond.

The con artists will then dress like a bail bondsman working on arresting a wanted person. They will arrive at a family members home. They will advise the family member that more money is owed to the bonding company. If the money is not paid,  the defendant will have to be put back in jail.

Licensed bail bondsman will not show up at any family members home announced. They will also not attempt to collect money in lieu of taking a defendant back into custody. They may show up for official business. However, they will not in an attempt to collect funds in this manner. Bail bondsmen do not attempt to contact random family member in order to collect money.

If a “bounty hunter”, “fugitive recovery agent” shows up at your home, they are most likely an unlicensed person. Those terms are not allowed in Florida. Florida only allows a licensed bail bondsman towork on locating wanted defendants. Always call the bonding company to verify if any action is being taken.

Conclusion

We have only listed a couple of the known scams that criminals will use to defraud good and honest people. If you ever have a question about any activity, call the actual bail bondsman or contact your local police. You can also reach out to the experts at Bad Girls Bail Bonds. We’ll help get them shut down! Feel free to contact us at 407.777.4155 or 305.871.1950.