Spot holiday scams

Carbon County Undersheriff Archie Roybal warned of holiday scams this season, saying that any unexpected requests that ask for credit card information or money orders and warn that “time is of the essence” should be regarded as suspicious.

Suspicious activity should be reported to the Carbon County Sherriff’s Office. Scams that have been reported usually come by letter or phone call, Roybal said.

According to a newsletter issued by the Sheriff’s office, scams identified so far include police impersonation, jury duty, IRS, lottery, winning checks and Rocky Mountain Power scams.

In one example of the police impersonation scam, an individual has called claiming to be a deputy at a jail on the east coast, alleging that a family member has been arrested. The individual demands bail and had all the appropriate information regarding the family member, including name and birth date, to confirm identity. In order to make the payment, the individual requested credit card information over the phone.

If there is any concern that this is a legitimate situation for the family member in question, the Sheriff’s Office should be contacted for further investigation. In order to verify police authenticity, collect the caller’s name, badge number and phone number and attempt to contact the family member.

Further impersonation includes an individual in a dark blue, pre-2006 SUV who pulled over a woman earlier this year east of Riverside. The individual in question was a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, of average weight and height, with dark hair. He wore a brown jacket and blue jeans, and claimed to have pulled the woman over for a seatbelt violation. When asked for law enforcement identification, the individual said he did not have any. This individual may be responsible for a number of incidents of this kind in the Steamboat Springs, Colo. area. If the suspicious law enforcement agent does not have identification, drive away and call 911.

Some scams can be identified by the office that they claim is calling, such as in the jury duty scam. Individuals will receive a call that claims that you missed jury duty and if you do not pay a fine over the phone, a warrant will be issued for your arrest. The Carbon County Court nor Sheriff’s Office operate business in this way, and if you receive this call you should immediately hang up.

Similarly, the IRS does not operate by phone call, and if they call for your credit card information to resolve some sort of fine, it should be identified as fraudulent immediately.

Lottery and prize winning check scams have been commonly reported in Carbon County. The lottery scam will send a letter with some sort of official seeming signature, like of a doctor or some type of executive, claiming that you have won, usually with pictures included. The lottery numbers are said to be drawn in a country not the United States, however photos will indicate that this is from within the United States.

Prize-winning checks are mailed out with letters, with the letter from Canada and the check from somewhere in the United States. The Canadian post mark is a dead giveaway of this scam.

Finally, the Sheriff’s office has identified a scam that left a Carbon County resident out of $2,200.00. The victim got a call that a check had not cleared and the power was to be shut off, and said they don’t take credit cards and need to be paid in gift cards. Any time Rocky Mountain Power calls and the recipient is concerned it could be legitimate, hang up and call Rocky Mountain Power.

The newsletter from the Sheriff’s Office further warns that any time the caller is demanding to be paid with credit cards, gift cards or green dot cards, it should alert the resident that it is a scam. Local, county, state and federal agencies will not call you to notify you over the phone that you will be arrested, and they will not request immediate monetary arrangements over the phone. Shred bank statements and credit card statements, and do not throw anything away without shredding that you would not feel comfortable handing over to a stranger.

Contact the Sheriff’s Office for more information or to report a scam at (307) 324-2776.