IFPD Warns Against Scams
The Idaho Falls Police Department is reminding residents to use caution when anyone solicits money or confidential information through the mail, on the telephone or over the Internet.
In a news release Tuesday, the department said it often gets complaints from residents about various money scams. These schemers often play on emotion, greed, ignorance and kindness from the general public to fraud residents out of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars, the department said.
Recently, the IFPD received a resident complaint regarding a caller who tried to pass himself off as a young relative who was out of the country and in trouble. He asked the resident to send money to get him back home.
Luckily, the resident used caution and asked the caller what his mother?s maiden name was before she would send any money. The caller hung up.
Other victims have not been as fortunate and lost thousands of dollars. Often these funds can never be recovered.
The IFPD recommends that residents educate themselves about the latest fraud schemes and key indicators of frauds by visiting www.fbi.gov or www.ftc.gov.
