The Carson City Sheriff’s Office is seeing a spike of fraudulent scams with a large increase of citizens becoming victims, according to a news release. The following are examples of fraudulent scam activity being seen.
Anyone calling or sending text messages claiming to be from a company telling you that you owe them money, threatening utility services being turned off or claiming your subscription is going to expire can be a scam. To verify this is not a scam, call and confirm the business is the true entity. Do not use the number used to contact you and do not use phone numbers provided by the caller.
Anyone calling you stating they are a family member or calling on behalf of a family member saying they need money for various reasons can also be a scam. If you don’t recognize the phone number and this behavior is unusual for the claimed family member it is likely a fraudulent scam.
Anyone reaching out through means of social media claiming to be a friend or family member asking for money for an investment opportunity, applying for government grants or asking for assistance to cash checks for them is most likely a fraudulent scam.
Anyone calling you and telling you there is a warrant for your arrest, you owe money to the IRS or that your Social Security benefits have been compromised is likely a scam.
Indicators of Fraud
• Anyone requesting payments through gift cards, Zelle, Bitcoin, any type of cryptocurrency, wire transfers or cash through the mail is fraud.
• If you have an active arrest warrant, law enforcement will simply arrest you. Law enforcement and government agencies will never contact you to tell you there is a warrant for your arrest. Law enforcement will never tell you that you can settle the warrant by payment.
• The IRS or Social Security will only contact you through mail. These agencies will never call you. Government agencies will never call you to tell you that you have qualified for a grant for money.
• Never deposit a check into your bank account at the request of another person.
• If someone tells you that you will receive money by giving them money it is most likely fraud.
• If you never entered a sweepstakes or a lottery, you cannot win money. If payment is needed to collect your “winnings”, it is scam.
How to prevent becoming a victim:
The best way to combat scammers is to not engage in conversation with them. Do not provide your computer login information to anyone. Do not share your driver’s license information or send photos of your driver’s license with anyone. Do not share your Social Security number with anyone. Do not create online accounts with anyone over the phone. Do not transfer your money into cryptocurrency accounts at someone else’s instruction. Do not cash or deposit checks from other people into your bank account.
If you become a victim:
The Carson City Sheriff’s Office will take your report. The Carson City Sheriff’s Office also encourages reporting to the FBI through IC3.GOV.
Gift card information, Zelle transfers, wire transfers, and cryptocurrency transfers are traceable. However, these transactions are moved quickly (within minutes) and most often the funds go overseas. These types of transactions are typically NOT reversible. They also have a low probability of having the funds recovered.
If you deposit a check into your bank account that returns as unpayable, your financial institution will hold YOU financially responsible for any loss of funds.
Fraudulent scam training is offered by the Carson City Sheriff’s Office for businesses, service groups and the community. Anyone with questions, please contact the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Investigation Division, Detective Kevin Murry at 775-283-7853.