Everyone impacted by scammers at different times

HARLAN —“Your car warranty is about to expire. Press 1 for more details.”
    “You may be eligible for refinancing of your student loans.”
    Chances are you have received phone calls like this. Or perhaps an e-mail has come through saying a friend is in trouble in a foreign country and needs money wired. Or there may be a call saying a grandchild is in trouble or in jail and needs money to get bailed out. People may fall for the emotional nature of these messages but they are examples of scams.
    According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost $5.8 billion to phishing and other fraud in 2021, a 70% increase from 2020.
    Harlan Police Chief Derrick Yamada said they get several calls a week at the police department from people being scammed.
    “Anyone who asks for more information than what you would normally provide to your banker, it’s a scam,” he said. “Contact law enforcement and get that report. Once you get that report we tell people right away to contact their bank.”
    Yamada said anytime a person falls for a scam, they should always contact the police department immediately. He added the police try to get the phone number the scam came in on, the e-mail it came in on, and pass the information on to the FBI.
    “A lot of people don’t have caller ID since it’s an added expense. If they call you on your home phone there are ways to get that information,” he said. “We can call HMU or FMCTC and try to get that information from them. We move them towards the FBI Cyber Crimes unit because they are the ones who are going to be able to recover the funds.”
    One scam involves purchasing a number of gift cards and reading the codes off to the person on the phone. Yamada said people should hang up on them and contact the police department.
    “As soon as people scratch the number off the back of the card and read it to them, that money is instantaneously gone,” Yamada said.
    Yamada said most of the funds are sent overseas, with the local police report going to the feds and then they are out of loop.
    “It’s disheartening to tell a local citizen all their money went to Europe. I can’t chase the money. It hurts my heart to say that. It’s not what I want for the community,” Yamada said. “I want them to feel safe, but we can only do so much with the resources that we are provided.”
He said setting up a local cyber investigation unit wasn’t an option.
    “For us small communities it’s not feasible,” he said. “That’s why I started the classes and have been putting brochures in the front lobby of the police department, city hall and library.”
    Yamada said the banks and police are getting more education.
    “This isn’t helping our community,” he said. “We need to get the word out that there’s such a broad spectrum of scams — the gift card one and now crypto currency is becoming huge. There are unfortunately 14 crypto currency ATMS in Omaha alone.”
It’s not just adults that are being scammed. Yamada said kids are getting scammed through Facebook Messenger or other apps. He said there is an embarrassment factor.
    “If they are embarrassed there’s a three-to-four-day delay in reporting that information,” Yamada said.  
    With the upcoming holidays, Yamada said the biggest scams are anything that sounds too good to be true.
    “People will start getting texts and calls and e-mails. The scammers know what you purchase and offer gift cards for surveys,” he said. “Anything that asks for more than a phone number and names is a scam. We’re already getting calls on packages getting taken from porches.”
    Susan Jensen, vice president of Shelby County State Bank, said if anything comes via text or e-mail regarding a customer’s account or debit card, the customer should make sure to call the bank.
    “A lot of times the bank is not calling regarding the message,” she said. “It’s best to call the number on the back of their debit card or credit card and ask questions or call the bank directly or Amazon directly. The bank would never send a message regarding the debit card being locked.”
    Jensen said scammers are asking questions and getting information like a full debit card number.
    Banks would not call you to verify an account number, password, PIN (Personal Identification Number) or Social Security Number,  Jensen said.
    “It is best to contact your bank directly. If you are a victim of ID theft, action needs to be taken,” she said.  “File a police report. Notify your bank and credit card company of what happened. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. Contact the fraud department of the three major credit bureaus to place an alert requesting creditors contact you before opening any new credit under your name.”
    Jensen said people should always be wary of what information you are giving or granting access to.  “Scammers are very convincing,” she said. “Once you allow access to remote into your computer, online banking credentials, or provided information with your debit card then they have just what they need.”
    Visit banksneveraskthat.com for more tips and videos to avoid being scammed especially this holiday season.