In a March 6 social media post, the St. George Police Department posted “A transnational fraud crew is running a scheme in our area. The scheme involves elderly victims receiving an email saying they owe money to PayPal or some other entity. The scammers convince the victim to pay off the debt. The scammers then have a courier physically meet the victim and collect the money.” This correlates with other reports of similar operations in other local areas, including Kane and northern Coconino Counties. Law enforcement agencies warn citizens to be vigilant and aware of increasingly convincing scams.
St. George PD gave a list of best practices and warnings that help citizens identify such scams:
• “If you’re unsure about the person you are talking to or what you are being told, ask a friend or family member for advice.
• Practice healthy skepticism. Look out for red flags like poor grammar and spelling errors.
• Any payment via cryptocurrency, online payment apps, prepaid debit cards, or gift cards are suspicious, since these are telltale signs of a scam.
• Don’t be afraid to slow down and ask questions. Give yourself time to think through the situation logically, which will prevent you from making snap decisions.
• Call the police. They have knowledge regarding current scams. Reporting scams to government agencies such as the FBI or FTC can help the government identify and hold scammers accountable.”
More local agencies have also added the recommendation of hanging up on suspicious calls that caller ID reports coming from a familiar number, waiting, then calling the recognized number back; Kane County has reported scammers cloning phone numbers to fool caller ID’s. Law enforcement and counter scam agencies report that while recovering money lost to a scammer is very rare, it is still worth reporting the scam and notifying a bank, as it may be possible to freeze lost assets or prevent the scam from occurring in the future.
