Scams on the rise; what to look for and what to do

Online scams and phone scams are becoming more and more problematic as time goes on, and with the increase in the use of smartphones and computers it will most likely continue to be a problem. Scams are nothing new, but like many crimes, they change their tactics and the way they go about tricking people into giving them their information, money or stealing the information through a variety of ways. There are several types of scams that have become common in our area. Recognizing some of the signs of these scams can help avoid becoming a victim. Also, make sure you report when you have been a victim of a scam or believe someone has attempted to scam you, as that can help us track what types of scams are being used in our area and make sure they are getting reported to other agencies that help work to combat these scams.

One scam that has become very common is items that are listed for sale on sites like Craig’s List, Facebook, and eBay. Most of the time these items are vehicles listed at an unbelievable price, but also have a story to go along with them about why the vehicle must be sold right now and the only way to make sure you get it is to send a “down payment” to hold the vehicle. When looking for vehicles online, I would recommend always looking at the vehicle in person, or having someone you trust look at it before putting any money down. If there is a story why the vehicle cannot be looked at, it is a scam. One of the most recent calls we received was from a citizen who had become leery about an online sale. This person said the seller told them the vehicle was in storage and could not be looked at, but would be shipped as soon as payment was received. Another was a truck for sale in a nearby town that was listed at an extremely low price and had a story in the listing about a widow selling her late husband’s truck and wanted it gone A.S.A.P. because it brought back bad memories. After the citizen contacted us and we checked into it we noticed a few things right away. The background in the photos of the truck did not appear to be the scenery of Missouri as there were palm trees and mountains in the background. When we contacted the seller telling them we had the cash and would be en route to buy it as soon as they told us the exact address (not just the town it was listed in) the seller again had reasons why they needed us to send them money right then and not wait to see it in person. They also wanted to be paid in pre-paid money gram cards. The best way to avoid these types of scams is the old fashion way of seeing the item before paying any money and making sure you get a title, keys, and a vehicle when the transaction takes place.

Other recent scams include calls from a “local Sheriff’s Office” saying you have a warrant and can pay it over the phone to avoid being arrested. This will always be a scam as we do not call people to tell them they have warrants, and you must come to our facility to pay a bond. If you receive a call like this, tell them you are going to hang up and call the Sheriff’s Office and see if they are still the ones on the other end. Other types of scams can be much more elaborate and involve phone calls from people who “represent” companies or organizations and can be very convincing with their stories and why they need your help with sending money for various reasons. Some of these scams can be very hard to recognize and one method of detection is again calling back to verify who they are. With some apps that are out today, scammers can even set their caller ID number to display the right number for whoever they are impersonating. But hanging up and looking up the number in the phone book or online and calling back to verify who someone is can help determine right away if it may be a scam. The last thing we have found that is common is opening emails and following links to websites where you have accounts and asking you to log in. Never log into an account from a website that you were directed to from an email link. If you have an account with the place the email is claiming you need to log in to, close the email and go to the link yourself from a new browser window before logging in. The link from the email could be a fake page made to look like your bank, eBay, papal or some other site, but is only collecting your log-in information for the scammer. Just a couple of extra safety precautions could help protect you from becoming the victim of a scam. If you have been the victim of a scam or have been targeted, you can report them to the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office at 417-667-6042.