Grant County Continues Seeing Uptick In Phone Scams

Law Enforcement agencies in Grant County are continuing to warn residents about a variety of phone and internet scams that are making the rounds and on the rise of late.

Spokesperson Kyle Foreman of the Grant County Sheriff's Office says many of the scams share a common tactic for extorting money from those who are targeted.

"The scammers will pretend to be from an organization that you're familiar with such as the sheriff's office, the county courts or the social security administration. The scammer will say that there's a problem that needs to be taken care of, or that you've won a prize and then they'll pressure you to act immediately. But there's always something you'll have to pay and they'll always ask for the payment method to be in the form of a MoneyGram or Western Union or a gift card - something like that which isn't traceable and there's no way to get the money back."

Just this week, the sheriff's office reports a scammer managed to con someone out of $900 by falsely claiming to be a sheriff's sergeant who was going to arrest the them if they didn't send the money immediately.

Foreman says that although there has been a significant uptick in scammers targeting Grant County citizens recently, the problem is on the rise across the United States.

"Scams are happening more and more every day across the nation. A lot of our citizens think that the scammers are specifically targeting Grant County but that's simply not the case. If you're on the internet or have a telephone, you're going to be subject to being scammed if you're not careful no matter where you live."

The sheriff's office is also seeing a rise in a type of scam known as 'virtual kidnapping', where scammers attempt to convince people that a friend or relative has been kidnapped and a ransom needs to be paid for their safe return.

Foreman says anyone who falls victim to a scam or believes they may have been targeted by a scammer should contact the sheriff's office and report it immediately.