Over the last two weeks, at least three Reno residents have fallen victim to phone scams. Altogether, they’ve lost about $200,000.
Now, Reno Police are working to educate folks on how to spot these scams and prevent more people from falling victim.
RPD says the main group being targeted is elderly people. Scammers are allegedly impersonating the federal trade commission, saying they're investigating fraud reports.
“Sometimes they pose as law enforcement officers, and these scammers will look up people's name that actually do work at these different law enforcement agencies,” said Hunter Mercurio, Public Information Officer for the Reno Police Department. “They may be kind of accurate in posing as these scammers.”
Police say that law enforcement agencies will never request money over the phone, or call ahead if they do have a warrant and need to arrest someone. They advise that if you don't recognize that phone number, don't answer it.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says that some scammers will alter the caller ID and make it look real, so always place a call to a verified phone number of the agency they're impersonating to see if the call is valid.
Once scammers get someone on the phone, they make urgent and emotional pleas to sell their ruse.
“Anything that's making you think something bad is going to happen to you and that you need to take care of something now over the phone, that should be a red flag.” said Timothy Johnston with the BBB. “Especially if they're telling you that you need to pay them in some unusual manner.”
Both agencies encourage family members to speak with older adults in their lives about how to spot and avoid scams.
For more educational materials about scams from the BBB, click here.
