Several breeds of scams have surfaced around Mower County this year, the most recent disguised as a federal agency seeking banking information.

Sheriff Terese Amazi hopes area residents will think twice before they give away personal information to unknown callers, especially because many times a scam victim does not get their money back.

“There’s always new twists and curves … so we do try to keep people apprised of the situation,” Amazi said. “We can’t get the money back for you. It’s almost impossible.”

Scammers are typically difficult to track because many scams are operated from other countries. According to Police Chief Brian Krueger, law enforcement officials often lose sight of the investigation when the alleged perpetrator is out of the country.

“Most of them aren’t in this country,” Krueger said. “It’s difficult to get the authorities (in the other country) to follow up on any leads we do come across.”

That’s why it’s important for people to second guess anybody who claims to need their banking information or Social Security number. Some scams are masked as prizes; last week, a 74-year-old Adams woman was scammed into giving away her banking information when someone called claiming the woman won $11.5 million worth of cameras. The caller told her she would need to provide her personal information for shipping purposes.

Amazi has seen scams masked as family emergencies, as well. She mentioned one woman who sent $5,000 to another country because she received a message from someone claiming to be her granddaughter; the alleged granddaughter claimed to be stranded in another country needing money to leave.

Anyone who receives a suspicious phone call, text message, email or piece of mail should not be afraid to second guess the messenger, Amazi said.

“Ask for a phone number where you can call them back, and then call law enforcement,” Amazi said. “I don’t care how convincing these people are. That’s their business — defrauding people.”

Most convincing, Amazi said, are the scams in which the caller claims to be a federal agency. Two Mower County residents have reported receiving a call like this in December. The caller has reportedly been telling people they are victims of a scam and need to provide their Social Security numbers and banking information for verification.

Amazi said residents should always be wary of these calls because a law enforcement agency will never solicit people for banking information.

“Law enforcement agencies do not contact folks unless they’ve made a police report about being a victim of a fraud or a scam, and we’re not asking for your bank information and all that because you’ve already provided that in the police report,” Amazi said. “We wont solicit reports from you. That is not how we operate.”

If anyone receives communication they believe could be a scam, they should call the Law Enforcement Center at 437-9400.

 

Noteworthy scams in 2011:

April 2011: 85-year-old woman reportedly scammed out of $4,000 from someone claiming to be a family member in an emergency situation.

Sept. 2011: Fake FBI email spreads virus and claims a diplomat has a large sum of money for the email recipient.

Oct. 2011: 85-year-old woman scammed out of a grand total of $250,000 over the last two years by sending money to scams in Panama, Nigeria and Jamaica.

Dec. 2011: 74-year-old scammed out of banking information when she was told she won $11.5 million in cameras.

Dec. 2011: Scam calls claim to be federal agency needing to verify banking information.