Scams seem to saturate our lives. Two Snohomish County law enforcement agencies have recently issued warnings about scams that are victimizing Snohomish County citizens.
The Herald reports that the Everett Police Department has warned
citizens to be on the lookout for skimmers where they pay for gas, use an ATM,
or purchase their groceries. Skimmers have been a long-time technique to
collect your credit card or debit card account information. The fraudster who
deploys skimmers can use the information to make purchases for himself or can
sell the data to other fraudsters for their use.
A police department spokesman told The Herald that they continue
to receive reports of skimmers being placed throughout the city.
Skimmers can be difficult to detect. Although sometimes the
installation can be not quite perfect so that they look loose, crooked, or the
terminal looks like it has been tampered with.
The Everett police recommend using ATMs in indoor well-lit
locations. Also, set up text or email alerts on your accounts to help monitor
your transaction history. Be sure to regularly monitor your bank and credit
card transactions. And use tap-to-pay wherever you can.
Report any unauthorized transactions to your bank immediately. If you
suspect that a credit card terminal has a skimmer, tell the business right
away.
If you have any information about skimming incidents or know of a
suspect who installs skimmers, please contact the Everett Police Department at
the EPD Tip Line at (425) 257-8450 or contact Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at (800)
222-TIPS.
For more information about skimmers check out this article from
the AARP- https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/credit-card-skimmers/?intcmp=AE-FRDSC-MOR-R2-POS3
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office issued a reminder that law enforcement
agencies will not call or send an email and demand immediate payment. In a
Facebook post it noted that it continues to receive reports from the public of
scammers posing as Sheriff’s Office deputies, sergeants, and lieutenants. The
reports note that the scammers are using the names of Sheriff’s Office real
staff.
Typically, when scammers impersonate local government officials, they
will claim that you missed jury duty, and you need to pay a fine. They also
might claim that there is a warrant for your arrest, for missing jury duty or
for another violation and to get out of being arrested, you need to pay a fine.
Remember, no legitimate local police agency will call you to tell
you that they are on their way to arrest you and demand that you pay a fine in
lieu of being arrested.
If you receive a phone call like this let the local police agency
know. You can also report it to the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
The Herald:
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/skimming-devices-reported-in-everett-at-gas-stations-atms/
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1100089885477775&set=a.226070289546410
Federal Trade Commission:
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-government-impersonation-scam#other
AARP:
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/jury-duty/?intcmp=AE-FWN-LIB2-POS14
