Sheriff Reminds Community To Be Vigilant For Phone Scams

Criminals who scam and attempt to scam innocent people don't take the holidays off.  In fact, they typically try to take advantage of the kindness and generosity most people have during this time of year, which is why it's important to be extra vigilant if you receive an unsolicited phone call or text from someone you don't know or someone who claims to be a representative of a legitimate agency or company. These thieves are continuously adapting their technique and because they make hundreds of calls a day, they perfect their criminal skills and are good at what they do.  Again, that's why it's important to be cautious. As a reminder, below are some typical phone scams:

Grandparents Scam

The scam typically involves the victim being contacted by telephone from a person claiming to be a grandchild.

The scammer, again posing as a grandchild, says he or she went on a trip to a foreign country and was arrested.

The caller asks the victim to immediately send money for bail.  The scammer may either request the money be paid by credit card over the phone, by money wire service, through Venmo or PayPal.

According to the scammer, if the victim does not send money, they will have to stay in jail for several more weeks or months before they have another court hearing.

Publisher's Clearing House Scam

The thief calls and claims the person answering the phone won a vehicle and a significant amount of money.  For the Publisher's Clearing House to send the Prize Patrol to present the award, the victim needs to go to an area store and purchase pre-paid gift cards and provide the card information to the thief.

The legitimate Publisher's Clearing House would never call and require pre-payment to process an actual prize.

Post Office Scam

The thief in this phishing scam sends a text saying the Post Office has been trying to deliver a package, but needs certain information confirmed, which can be done by clicking a link. 

The actual Post Office will not text a customer and request information regarding package delivery.  Postal customers who ship a package are given a tracking number.

Medicare / Medicaid Scam

The Medicare / Medicaid Scam is evolving.  In one scam, the thief says that Medicare is issuing a new plastic card and needs the victim's information to process it and ship it to them. 

The other, involves them calling and saying medical devices, such as knee or back braces have been shipped.  When the victim says they haven't ordered anything, the thief asks for personal information to confirm the order information they have on file.

Medicare and Medicaid will contact clients by mail, not by unsolicited phone calls. Additionally, it's important to closely review your Medicaid statements to ensure no unauthorized purchases have been made to your account. 

Intentional Wrong Number / Holiday Travel Text Scam -

This phishing scam involves receiving an unsolicited text message saying something along the lines of "I just arrived at the airport. Are you there yet?"  This is an intentional wrong number scam.  Most people will reply that the sender has the wrong number out of courtesy, which is what the thief wants you to do.  This confirms they have a live number in their system and also serves as an opportunity to parlay your courtesy into a conversation which they will continue as they attempt to get you to provide personal information or find a scam angle best suited for you.

As always, if the unsolicited call or text is coming from a number you don't recognize it's best just to ignore it.

While many of these scams and thieves are outside of the United States (even though they may seem to be calling from a local phone number), anyone who believes they have become victim of a scam should first, not be embarrassed.  Again, these thieves are good at what they do.  I encourage any victims to immediately stop communicating with the thief and contact their banks, credit card companies and law enforcement while closely monitoring their financial statements for any suspicious or unauthorized activity.

If you have questions about whether a call or situation is legitimate, please don't hesitate to contact me or our office.

Stay safe,

Sheriff David M. Groves