Don’t be a victim of scams!
In addition to reporting identity theft to the police department, a Federal Trade Commission website can create a plan to help you recover from the theft.
Unfortunately, there always seems to be a new way that scammers are trying to take advantage of people. If you’ve been a victim of a scam, don’t feel badly. Scammers are very adaptable and have been successful coming up with new scams to get new victims.
We want our residents to be informed, and to be able to guard against common scams. If you are ever in doubt, please contact the police department and an officer will be happy to discuss the matter with you.
Here are some of the most recent scams that we are aware of:
- The Grandparent Scam - claims grandchild is in jail after a crash or arrest and needs bail money. Hang up on them.
- The IRS Scam - claims you owe IRS money and they’re going to arrest you. Hang up on them.
- Warrant Scam - claims you have a warrant for your arrest for an unpaid ticket. Hang up on them.
- Drug Scam- claims they found a crap load of drugs in a rental car that was in your name and you need to pay to get an attorney or get arrested. Hang up on them.
- Computer Scams - pop up says you have viruses and offer to fix for $$. Unplug your computer and bring to a repair shop.
- Child porn Scam - similar to above. They’ll flood your screen with X-rated pictures and threaten to turn you into authorities. Unplug your computer and bring to repair shop.
- Child porn scam pt 2 - they’ll pose as a love interest online and get people to send nude photos or videos. Then they’ll claim to be the love interest’s parent and say the love interest is a minor and threaten to go to police with the pics and/or video unless you pay them. Don’t send nude pics online and don’t send money.
- Hotel Scam - claims something went wrong when you checked in and just want to verify your card information. Hang up and walk to the front desk and inquire.
- Love Scam aka “catfishing” - pose as someone looking for love online. Then say some kind of sob story (building schools in 3rd world county, stuck overseas because of passport issues, cancer, car broke, child sick, etc) and need money. Don’t send money.
- Lottery/inheritance Scam - claims you won the lottery or have an unclaimed inheritance from a very distant relative. Hang up on them.
- Craigslist or internet sales Scam - claims they’re interested in purchasing something you’re selling. Says they’ll send you a check and then ask you to ship the item. The check will be for way more than selling price, then they’ll ask you to send them back the difference. Don’t cash the check and stop interacting with them.
If anyone asks for payment in the forms of gift cards or money orders, it’s a scam. If anyone threatens that you will be arrested, it’s a scam. Police will not call you to tell you that you have a warrant. We tell you face-to-face and then take you to jail.
There are many more scams out there, but these are the most frequent ones we’ve heard of.
If you work in retail or at a banking institution, keep alert to any elderly people making large withdrawals or purchasing large amounts of gift cards. Make small talk and ask them about their purchase. If it sounds like a scam, stall them and call police.
We want to share as much information as possible, so our residents are informed and guard against scams.
If you’re ever in doubt, please call the police department before giving anyone any kind of information or before sending any money. We’d much rather take 15 minutes of our day explaining how it’s a scam versus spending a couple hours explaining how it’s nearly impossible to get any of your money back.
Physical Address:
N168W19851 Main Street
Jackson, WI 53037
In Emergency DIAL 911
Administrative:
(262) 677-4949
Washington County Sheriff Dispatch:
(262) 335-4378
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