Phone scams an increasing occurrence

Phone scams are not a new occurrence to Cheyenne County residents, but a new surge of calls warrants residents to take precautionary measures when dealing with potential criminal callers.

Sheriff John Jensen said phone scams have been occurring for as long as he can remember, but he has seen an increase in volume and persistence.

“Over all I think our community is very smart when it come to these scans, because they have been going on for so long,” Jensen said.

There are a few different scams to be aware of and the list is always changing as criminals find new ways to scam the public.

Sidney residents have recently been getting quite a few Internal Revenue Service(IRS) calls. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the IRS will not call from out of the blue, but through official correspondence sent through the mail.

According to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) 90,000 complaints were received through its telephone hotline, to date, TIGTA has identified approximately 1,100 victims who have lost an estimated $5 million from these IRS scams.

Sheriff Jensen said its important to know that the IRS calls are not the only scams out there. Jensen said he received calls reporting a phone scam about a lottery win, where the person receiving the call just had to pay a certain amount to receive a even larger amount.

“If you have to pay for anything or give out personal information it’s a scam,” said Jensen.

Credit card companies warn against callers claiming they’ll save you thousands of dollars in interest and finance charges, and say you’ll pay off your credit card three to five times faster.

Elderly people are generally the target of these calls, but anyone can be a victim.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has had phone scams targeting college students, threatening to arrest them if they fail to pay thousands, claiming reasons ranging from parking tickets to money owed on student loans.

In February Sidney Sapp Bros Petroleum received a call demanding supposed delinquent utility payments and threatening that utilities or phone service will be shut off, using a “threatening and insistent tone.”

Incoming phone numbers scammers use vary, often times using a familiar area code generated by an automated service.

Jensen encourages those in the community to be smart, by following up with agencies the callers calim to be from. Never giving personal information over the phone or sending a check or money order to entities without verification. Also, talk to friends and family members about the calls so others are aware of the phone scams.

“We are seeing this becoming an everyday occurrence, and word of mouth seems to be the best way to get the word out,” Jensen said.

If you do receive a call you believe to be a phone scam, Jensen advises to get the number and report the call to the local authorities.

“We are compiling a list of numbers these calls are coming from,” Jensesn said.

To report a possible phone scam residents can call the Cheyenne County Sheriffs office at 254-2922.