Las Vegas police: 3 accused of stealing thousands in text message phishing scheme

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Three people are accused of stealing large amounts of money from Las Vegas-area bank accounts as part of a phishing scheme involving text messages, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.

Las Vegas Metro police arrested Jazzmin Dotson, 26, on Aug. 18 on a warrant for a theft charge, records said. Two other people also appear to be connected to the case and face a similar theft charge.

In February 2023, Silver State Schools Credit Union began to identify several incidents of unauthorized transfers and fraud, documents said. In each case, a bad actor would access a person’s account and then transfer the money to another. A person would then withdraw the money at a bank branch, ATM, or casino.

Before each fraudulent transaction, victims would receive a text message saying the credit union had deactivated their account, police said. The victims would click on a link in the text, which appeared to look like the bank’s actual website. Police identified the scheme as a phishing scam, where criminals send fake messages to gain personal information.

One victim lost $83,000 in an account transfer to Dotson and two others, police said. Several thousand dollars were withdrawn from two Las Vegas Strip casinos.

Dotson allegedly withdrew large amounts of money from the three credit union locations over four hours, police said. A detective attempted to contact Dotson several times but she did not respond.

Dotson remained in custody on $10,000 bail as of Thursday. A judge ordered a source hearing before she secured her release.

A message on the credit union’s website Thursday read: “Remember to be cautious when providing your personal information over the phone, especially during unsolicited and unexpected calls. Silver State Schools Credit Union will never call you or email you to obtain your confidential information. The only time we may ask for your personal information is when you contact us, and we do so for security and identification purposes. If you feel uncomfortable during the call or do not trust the call that has taken place, disconnect and call Silver State Schools Credit Union directly.”

Police and the FBI warn consumers not to give out usernames and passwords and not to click on any suspicious links. Customers can often set up two-factor authentication to access accounts.

Anyone who believes they are the victim of any online fraudulent activity can report it directly to the FBI at ic3.gov . The FBI also offers information on its website about how to spot the most common scams and cybercrimes.

A recent study found Nevada ranked No. 1 for cybercrime victims.

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