Where there is desperation, people are willing to exploit it. Correctional facilities generate a unique environment for scams targeting both inmates and their families on the outside. This section covers the most common scams operating in and around correctional facilities, including fake bail bondsmen, fraudulent legal services, romance scams targeting families, phone account fraud, commissary manipulation, and the drug-laced mail schemes that have led to facility-wide mail restrictions across the country. Understanding how these scams work is the best protection against them. The guidance here comes from real experience with the criminal justice system and from watching these schemes operate from the inside. If something feels wrong, it probably is. The questions answered in this section help families and inmates identify suspicious situations before they become costly mistakes. See also our sections on Inmate Phone Calls, Send Inmate Mail, and Relationship Issues.
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Subject: Prison/jail scams
Scams happen to new inmates by predator inmates.
Most of these scams are hard to tell unless you are forewarned. Many savvy people, even wealthy businessmen get fleeced inside prison simply trying to fit in.
Predators are not easily spotted but they know how to spot you by finding out what your weaknesses are. Most every "new" inmate's weakness is thinking that their appeal will get them out early, or that there is something that cuts their sentence. The inmates whom have been around...
Read moreSubject: Prison/jail scams
Do not set up any account or put any money on any inmate account until you know exactly who you are dealing with. This is a known scam that circulates inside jails and prisons. Inmates sometimes contact random people or use numbers found in other inmates' address books, asking them to fund accounts. The money ends up in the inmate's commissary and the person on the outside is left with nothing. If you do not know who is asking, do...
Read moreSubject: Prison/jail scams
We have no idea. Craigslist is the Wild West, where anything can go. There is nothing to filter their listings, buyer beware.
Subject: Prison/jail scams
It could be that your inmate either lost your letter or simply gave it to another inmate who took it upon themselves to write something dirty. Mail is sacred in prison and inmates always receive theirs unless your inmate is having their mail hijacked by another inmate. We can't give you a "for sure" answer on what's going on, but we are more suspicious of your fiance acting out against you (for whatever reason) and we'd look to him to...
Read moreSubject: Prison/jail scams
Yes, inmates absolutely will try to befriend people that they communicate with to do favors for them and more. Since there is so much idle time available, inmates become experts at manipulation but the person they are communicating with has to be complicit. As they say, "it takes two to tango". It starts out innocently like a pen pal relationship but it can grow into more than that, and oftentimes it does. Inmates have even married some of their suitors....
Read moreSubject: Prison/jail scams
When something does not add up between what an inmate is telling you and what you have read in the public record, trust the public record.
On the sentence calculation, federal inmates must serve 85 percent of their imposed sentence. There is no parole in the federal system. On a ten year sentence that works out to approximately eight and a half years before release, followed by three years of supervised release. The claim of being out in three years on...
Read moreSubject: Prison/jail scams
The honest answer is that you will not know for certain right away and anyone who tells you otherwise is not being straight with you. Time is the only real test and your own intuition is a more reliable guide than anything someone says to you through a phone or a letter.
What you can watch for are patterns. Genuine connection tends to be consistent, patient, and not transactional. Someone who is using you tends to escalate requests over time, whether...
Read moreSubject: Prison/jail scams
This is a question we get a lot because inmates have time on their hands and use the telephone and mail to manipulate people into getting them things they think they need. You will have to use your instincts and knowledge of this person's past behavior to really know if there is something real or not. You have to be careful not to try and do too much anyway but let your internal gut feeling guide you.
Subject: Prison/jail scams
Not all inmates are misleading women, but it does happen often enough that you should be aware of it and protect yourself.
When someone is incarcerated, they have:
A lot of time
Limited emotional connection
A strong need for support, money, and attention
That can lead some inmates to form relationships that feel very real in the moment, but are not always intended to continue after release.
At the same time, there are also genuine relationships that survive incarceration and continue on the outside. Both things...
Read moreSubject: Prison/jail scams
This is a more common situation than most people realize, and it is smart to ask the question before things go further.
The hard truth is that there is no foolproof way to be completely certain. Inmates have a tremendous amount of time on their hands and many are skilled conversationalists. They can be warm, attentive, and emotionally engaging in ways that feel genuine. That does not mean every pen pal relationship is dishonest, but it does mean you need to...
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