RIDGWAY –– Pennsylvania State Police are reminding citizens that con artists continue to conduct illegal activities across the region.
Scams can be easily committed on the unsuspecting person, and if not careful, anyone can become a victim, police said in a prepared statement.
“Con artists are smooth talkers, meaning they can talk you out of information without you realizing what information you gave,” police said. “Virtually everyone knows that it is dangerous to give out a credit card number; however, if the proper person obtains a little personal information about you, they have the ability to commit one of the most popular crimes of today, identity theft.”
Some victims of identity theft have lost thousands of dollars and in some cases have spent years trying to get problems associated with this crime corrected, police said. There are many variations, but most scams involve a ruse where someone receives a phone call or a check in the mail from a lottery, a corporation, a medical facility or a foreign country. Other schemes originate from use of online selling or auction sites.
“In most cases, the victim is instructed to cash a check, keep a small portion of the money and send the remaining amount to an address provided,” police said. “Other scams require the victim to send iTunes or Google cards. In some of these crimes, sending the money will ensure your receipt of an even larger cash prize.”
The crime within this scam is the fact that the prize or product is non-existent and/or the initial check is fraudulent, police said. If one sends the amount required by personal check to the address provided, the con artist not only cashes the check and steals the money, but he or she also now has a bank account number.
Another scheme that is becoming more popular involves a scammer calling the victim and acting as a family member in legal trouble and in need of some fast cash. The person will usually ask the victim to quickly wire money for ball or to pay fines.
“The scammer will have already obtained information about the victim’s family member on social media websites to gain the victim’s trust,” the police said. “To thwart this scam a potential victim should ask questions of the caller that only a family member would know: extended family names, mother’s maiden name, birth dates of family members, anniversary dates, or the names of current or past pets.”
The primary prevention tip to remember to avoid becoming a victim of any scam is, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” police said.
“If you believe that you are a victim of a scam, save all the information you have regarding the issue, and promptly contact the police department that serves your area,” police said.
