YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. – The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents in Yuma county about several different scams that they see, especially during the holiday season. YCSO spokesman Alfonso Zavala says, “You’ll start getting these phone calls so we are trying to help prevent this and keep our community aware”
A list of the top 5 scams to look out for has been compiled by the Better Business Bureau. Number one is the Grandparent scam. With this trick you get a phone call from someone posing as a grandchild who is supposedly out of town and in a desperate situation and will ask for money to be wired to them.
Number two is the jury duty scam this one uses law enforcement against you, and may even use a real officer or judges name. The caller states that you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant has been issued for your arrest. You’re then offered a choice to either pay for the warrant or have an officer sent over to arrest you. Zavala says, “First of all we don’t take money over the phone second of all we wont call letting you know we’d arrest you”
The third strategy, scammers will use the lottery to get your money. They’ll ask for a payment up-front for supposed taxes and fees so you can collect your winnings. Yuma resident Silvia Herrara almost became this scams next victim, “My experience was that I won millions of dollars in the Spanish lottery. I didn’t believe a word and tore the letter up”. YCSO says many times these scams will originate over seas.
With the fourth scam, the crooks will even use the IRS to try and rob you. A phone call will claim to be an IRS agent who is demanding payment for overdue taxes. The caller says if it’s not settled immediately you’ll be arrested. They’ll want the money either wired or put on a prepaid card.
The fifth trick involves convincing you that your utility company is about to cut off service due to unpaid bills. The scammers will want money sent to them by money transfer or a prepaid card. One resident that says he was almost a victim of these scams many times says ,“If you’re not informed about that information you can be scammed really easily”.
If you are a victim of a scam or feel you are being target by these scam techniques please report it to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.