The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Scammers do not discriminate when it comes to their targets; they’ll try to steal money or information from anyone. These crooks use clever schemes to defraud millions of people every year. They often pretend to be someone a person might trust, like a government official, a family member, a charity, or a familiar company or business representative. Both the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office and the Chinook Post Office want local residents to be alert in order to avoid becoming the victim of a scam.

According to Sheriff John Colby, scammers can attack in a variety of ways. “They’re all generally trying to get some sort of personal information from you, whether it’s your social security number, Medicare information, retirement accounts, email accounts, or credit card information.”

Current scams to watch out for in Blaine County are those connected to the Publisher’s Clearinghouse and to the IRS. “The Publisher’s Clearinghouse scammers call to say you’ve won millions of dollars. After announcing that you’re a winner, they request the taxes and fees on the sweepstakes prize and promise that once those funds are received, your prize money will be released to you. This is a scam,” Colby explained.

He added, “During tax season, the IRS will not call to request a debit or credit card number for payment of taxes, nor will they ask you to send a cashier’s check for an amount owed. These calls come from scammers.”

Computer scams and insurance scams are also rampant. “Any time anyone calls for money, your best protection is to tell the caller that you’ll call them back. Then, look up the phone number for the business that the individual names. Don’t use the Caller ID since it can be faked. Use the Whitepages official site on Google to look up the number and call it yourself to verify whether an offer is legitimate,” Colby said.

Regarding potential scam artists, Leta Buck, Postmistress at the Chinook Post Office, encourages local residents to report any suspected scams that come through the mail. “Trust your postal workers by reaching out and reporting anything suspicious,” she said.

“We had an individual almost lose $21,000 recently when he received an invitation to start a business. The scammer saw a big opportunity and asked this person to enclose personal information and a prepaid debit card inside a magazine and to mail it in an Express Mail envelope. The victim was asked to send more than one package to different locations. We want people to be aware of such unusual requests so that we can prevent them from losing their savings,” Buck reported.

“Thankfully, that money was recovered. The writer of the checks was able to stop payment,” Sheriff Colby stated, “although the perpetrator was not caught. These criminals often request mail to be sent to one address that then forwards mail on to an address overseas.”

Buck went on to explain that if someone suspects after-the-fact that he/she may have been scammed, that individual should contact the post office as soon as possible so that any item already mailed can get intercepted. The Postal Inspector will get involved at that point to determine the legitimacy of an address or business for a patron’s protection and to proceed with litigation if warranted. Interested individuals can find a list of possible schemes and alerts at https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/

One of those alerts explains that some postal customers are receiving fraudulent phone calls about a package delivery. The callers are trying to obtain personally identifiable information from the customer. These phone calls appear on

caller identification (Caller ID) as originating from a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) phone number. The caller states that he/she is with the USPS and that a package is ready to be delivered. The caller continues to explain that the package can only be delivered if personal details such as name, address, and date of birth are verified. Because the USPS does not call customers and request personally identifiable information for delivery verification purposes, customers should not take the bait.

Buck also warned that a person should never send a Money Order without filling it out completely, especially the amount.

“If you believe you’re a victim of fraud related to the U.S. Mail, including mailed sweepstakes, lotteries, on-line auctions, work-at-home scams or chain letters, report your concern to the U.S. Postal Service as mail fraud,” Buck said.

“Although no one likes to risk embarrassment by admitting they’ve been duped, these devious predators need to be stopped, so you need to report the incident immediately. Regardless of how stupid you might feel, no one is going to judge you,” she added.

Colby supported Buck’s declaration: “Don’t worry about feeling silly if you find yourself caught in a scammer’s snare. The people who run scams are good at what they do. They make big bucks and use human emotion like embarrassment as leverage. They try to lure you with the promise of wealth or prey on your trustworthy nature. Your best bet is to trust your instincts. If something sounds too good to be true, it’s probably fake.”

These thieves use tools like Google maps to see a picture of someone’s property. Once they’ve learned that a person owns horses or dogs, they will attempt to befriend their victims using that knowledge to their advantage. They also often prey on the elderly, knowing that the elderly might be lonely or financially secure or disinclined to report them.

Scams that appear as pop-ups and advertisements on websites and within email campaigns are known as phishing. Phishing is defined by the Federal Trade Commission as “when a scammer uses fraudulent emails or texts, or copycat websites to get you to share valuable personal information – such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, or your login IDs and passwords.”

To protect against scams, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offer these ten tips:

1. Never send money to someone you have never met face-to-face. Seriously, just don’t ever do it. Credit cards have significant fraud protection built in, but some payment methods don’t. Wiring money through services like Western Union or MoneyGram is risky because it’s nearly impossible to get your money back. That’s also true for reloadable cards (like MoneyPak or Reloadit) and gift cards (like iTunes or Google Play). Government offices and honest companies won’t require you to use these payment methods.

2. Don’t click on links or open attachments in unsolicited email. Links can download malware onto your computer and/or steal your identity. Be cautious even with email that looks familiar; it could be fake.

3. Don’t believe everything you see. Scammers are great at mimicking official seals, fonts, and other details. Just because a website or email looks official does not mean that it is. Even Caller ID can be faked. If someone calls asking for money or personal information, hang up. If you think the caller might be telling the truth, call back to a number you know is genuine.

4. Don’t buy online unless the transaction is secure. Make sure the website has “https” in the URL (the extra s is for “secure”) and a small lock icon on the address bar. Even then, the site could be shady. Check out the company first at bbb.org. Read reviews about the quality of the merchandise and make sure you are not buying cheap and/or counterfeit goods. And be skeptical about free trial offers. Some companies use free trials to sign you up for products and bill you every month until you cancel. Before you agree to a free trial, research the company and read the cancellation policy. And always review any monthly statements for charges you don’t recognize.

5. Be extremely cautious when dealing with anyone you’ve met online and about what you share on social media. Scammers use dating websites, Craigslist, social media, and many other sites to reach potential targets. They can quickly feel like a friend or even a romantic partner, but that is part of the con to get you to trust them. On social media, consider only connecting with people you already know. Be sure to use privacy settings on all social media and online accounts. Imposters often get information about their targets from their online interactions and can make themselves sound like a friend or family member because they know so much about you.

6. Never share personally identifiable information with someone who has contacted you unsolicited, whether it’s over the phone, by email, text, or on social media, even at your front door. This includes banking and credit card information, your birthdate, and Social Security/Social Insurance numbers.

7. Don’t be pressured to act immediately. Scammers typically try to make you think something is scarce or a limited time offer. They want to push you into action before you have time to think or to discuss it with a family member, friend, or financial advisor. High-pressure sales tactics are also used by some legitimate businesses, but it’s never a good idea to make an important decision quickly. Slow down, check out the story, do an online search, consult an expert — or just tell a friend.

8. Use secure, traceable transactions when making payments for goods, services, taxes, and debts. Do not pay by wire transfer, prepaid money card, gift card, or other non-traditional payment method. Say no to cash-only deals, high pressure sales tactics, high upfront payments, overpayments, and handshake deals without a contract. Don’t pay upfront for a promise. Someone might ask you to pay in advance for things like debt relief, credit and loan offers, mortgage assistance, or a job. They might even say you’ve won a prize, but first you have to pay taxes or fees. If you do, they will probably take the money and disappear.

9. Whenever possible, work with local businesses that have proper identification, licensing, and insurance, especially contractors who will be coming into your home or anyone dealing with your money or sensitive information. Check them out at bbb.org to see what other consumers have experienced.

10. Hang up on robocalls. If you answer the phone and hear a recorded sales pitch, hang up and report it to the FTC. These calls are illegal, and the products are often bogus. Don’t press 1 to speak to a person or to be taken off the list. That could lead to more calls.

Because Sheriff Colby wants Blaine County citizens to be safe from criminal activity, he reminds people to ask questions and to report any suspicious activity to the local police department (357-3170) or sheriff’s department (357-3260).

“Let us investigate a situation if you’re unsure. We’d rather err on the side of caution before anyone loses thousands of dollars,” he concluded.