Tribes' Casinos Fall Prey to Wave of "Impostor" Scams
Tribal gaming industry operatives are advised to watch out for a surge of imposter scams targeting gambling venues in the US.
This notice, sent out to tribal gaming organizations this week, alerts operators and supervisors to be wary of con artists impersonating vendors or government authorities trying to defraud casinos of significant sums of money.
This warning follows the arrest of a man being accused of stealing $1.17 million from Circa, a Las Vegas casino, by posing as one of the casino's owners, either Derek or Greg Stevens.
The suspect, Erik Gutierrez Martinez, has also been accused of attempting to swindle $250K from the Eureka Casino Resort in Mesquite, Nevada, under similar circumstances.
Circa Swindle
A similar crime took place at the Golden Nugget in Laughlin, Nevada, but it's unclear if Gutierrez Martinez is suspected of being involved.
The NIGC's notice hints that the scam isn't limited to Nevada's commercial casinos. It discusses an occurrence at an unspecified tribal casino where an employee working in the vault received a call from a person impersonating a tribal official.
The imposter instructed the employee to take $100K from the vault and remain on the phone while they dropped it off at various Bitcoin vending machines in the region. Then, the victim was instructed to send the QR code from the kiosks to the scammers.
Phony Emergencies
The NIGC stated that scammers sound convincing and use the perception of authority and fear to trick employees into bypassing internal rules.
They usually fabricate an emergency and assert that the victim's refusal to comply would have grave consequences for them personally and for the casino's operations or the tribe.
The imposters have done extensive research, according to the NIGC. They frequently appear to have first-hand knowledge of the casino's internal operations.
If challenged, they counter with threats of dismissal or legal action. They employ spoofed phone numbers to make it appear they are the person they're impersonating.
The NIGC suggested that tribal operators make sure their staff are aware of the scam and are trained not to deviate from company rules. Operators who receive suspicious calls should inform local law enforcement or their local FBI office.
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Source: www.casino.org
