Phone scam hits Gresham home; police urge caution | Crime

GRESHAM, Ore. -- Pay the money or be arrested.

That was message one Gresham woman received Thursday morning.

At about 9 a.m., Gresham's Pancy Strobel received messages on her home phone and work phone from a male who identified himself as Luke Williams. The man had an accent that vaguely sounded British East Indian with sounds of a call center in the background.

The suspect told Strobel she must call him or risk arrest. She called Williams back, which is when she was threatened with arrest and having her children taken from her if she refused to pay $600, plus interest totaling $6,000, to Williams. Williams told Strobel she had recently obtained a pay day loan and he demanded payment via EFT to his company account. And since she was late, he demanded interest of $5,400. The suspect had Strobel's home and work phone, date of birth, complete name and social security number.

Strobel called police and they took a report for extortion. However, police do not have the suspect's information other than the name, which police believe is fake. Police have called the phone number of 520-216-5764 to find Williams, but when police identify themselves, the phone disconnects.

Using the Internet to identify information associated with this phone, police learned there are multiple complaints all identifying the callers as scammers. Police are now urging residents to be cautiousin where they conduct their business and who may be lurking watching for private information.

Police have now suspended the investigation. Anyone having information of interest to Gresham Police Detectives are asked to call the tip line at 503-618-2719. The case number is 11-709506.