When answering the phone, you hear an official-sounding voice asking for your Social Security number to ensure that payments continue. Later, a text claims that an Amazon package has been delayed — with a prompt to click a link for more information. Or, maybe someone has rung your doorbell, claiming to be either a tradesperson or a city representative, asking to check plumbing issues.
If situations such as the above happen to you, be very skeptical of any claims, as scammers operate year-round — not just during the December holiday season. Hang up on a suspicious phone call, double-check to verify the identity of a suspicious door-knocker and — above all — constantly educate yourself about scammers and their ever-changing methods. In 2021, reported fraud losses increased more than 70 percent over 2020, to more than $5.8 billion, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Those words of advice come from the Huntley Police Department. Common scams include messages designed to play on emotions and “throw you off your game,” according to Officer Jerry Keppler of the Huntley Police Department. Common scare messages include warnings that a resident’s computer has been hacked or has a virus—with a purportedly “safe” link to click that allows a scammer access to your computer or personal data. Or it can be a positive-sounding message, such as you’ve won a prize or a large sum of money.
“A lot of texts or emails look legitimate, and if it’s playing on a fear, such as your account has been hacked, they want you to take care of the matter immediately and not think about what’ you’re doing,” he said.
Best defense: Close out or delete the suspicious-looking email or text. If the message pertains to an Amazon delivery, log into your Amazon account to verify that there was a problem. If the message concerns a bank account, look at your bank statement for a legitimate number and call it to verify whether your account has been hacked.
One scam targeting senior citizens involves bereavement. The thief calls, claiming that the deceased spouse has outstanding debts that must be paid immediately, and they will ask for a blank check or credit card information for payment.
Best defense: Hang up. If you’re not expecting a phone call, and if you don’t recognize the number, don’t answer the phone. “If a call is truly important, the person will either call back or leave a voice mail,” Keppler explained. “Some people get multiple calls a day. You can save time by not answering each one and then simply looking at voice mails.”
Caller I.D. can help pinpoint who’s on the other end of the line, but it isn’t foolproof. “Many scammers from outside of your area or country now use technology that displays a local area code on your caller I.D.,” Keppler said.
Another scam targeting retirees is the grandparent’s scam, according to Meghan Mumenthal, police social worker for the Huntley Police Department.
“A senior citizen receives a call, stating that their grandson or granddaughter is in a vacation spot such as Ft. Myers, Fla., and has been arrested and needs bail money,” she said. “The message may sound credible because the scammer has gotten the name of the grandchild and the vacation spot from the grandchild’s Facebook page, which in many cases is not a private account and therefore is accessible to the public.”
Best defense: Hang up immediately and call your grandchild or his or her parent to check if anything has happened to them, Mumenthal said.
Yet another scam tries to take advantage of tragedies such as the recent Turkey/Syria earthquake. “Scammers thrive on tragedies,” Mumenthal said “Their methods can range from fake GoFundMe accounts to phony websites designed to look like the ones representing credible disaster-relief agencies.”
Best defense: Donate only to established disaster-relief agencies such as the Red Cross or Save The Children. Before donating online, make sure that the website URL is the official one, Mumenthal said. (The official Red Cross website is www.redcross.org, and the correct URL for Save The Children is www.savethechildren.org.) Be very skeptical on GoFundMe and double-check the person who is sponsoring a page.
Have you been the victim of a scam?
The first step is to contact the Illinois Attorney General’s office and file a consumer complaint, according to Officer Jerry Keppler of the Huntley Police Department. To file online, visit www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov and follow the homepage links. Not a computer user? Call the attorney general’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at
1-800-386-5438. For senior citizens age 60+, call 1-800-243-5377. For those with speech loss or hearing impairment, call 1- 800-964-3013 (TTY).
Keppler also recommends that Huntley residents call the Huntley Police Department, which will file a report that can be used as documentation if it is needed for your bank or insurance company. The Huntley Police Department’s non-emergency number is (847) 515-5311.
Additionally, the department’s Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/search/top?q=huntley%20police%20department,
features every Tuesday a posting about a common scam and how to defend against it.
Scammers who show up on your doorstep can impersonate legitimate tradespeople, such as cable TV technicians, landscapers or city employees. Keppler said they usually work in teams. After they have distracted a resident by asking him or her to step outside or head to another part of the house to check a “problem,” the scammer’s partner will quickly enter the house to steal – and exit quickly.
“They’re in and out in no time, and they may be wearing professional-looking shirts or I.D. badges,” he said.
Best defense: If someone asks to check something in your home, ask for the person to wait outside for a few minutes while you call the organization they claim to represent, to verify the person’s legitimacy. “A lot of residents feel it’s rude to leave the person standing outside their door for those few minutes,” Keppler said. “But remember, if the person is an employee of a legitimate business, he or she is earning a salary and therefore is getting paid to stand there. Taking five minutes to make a phone call is a good investment to protect yourself from a scammer.”
To learn more about common scams and how to defend against them, visit the Illinois Attorney General’s website at illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/Fraud_Alerts.pdf. Also check the Federal Trade Commission’s website at consumer.ftc.gov/scams.
