Sheriff Cruze Reminds Citizens of Potential Scams

Most people these days are potential victims of scams – receiving suspicious phone calls, emails, text messages and mailings. The Meeker County Sheriff’s office receives several scam reports each week throughout the year.

Sheriff Brian Cruze says some common scams are callers claiming to be from the IRS and demanding personal information or payments, or a grandchild claiming to be in trouble and needing money. He says you should never give out personal information and if it’s seems suspicious, call the Sheriff’s Office and report it.

Sheriff Cruze says the Federal Trade Commission receives reports of $12.5-billion in losses each year due to scams, with the FBI estimating reported losses at $16.6-billion, but he says there are estimates that it could actually be closer to $50-billion a year as a lot of people don’t report scams. He says you need to use common sense so if something seems too good to be true, it probably is; and you can forget about being “Minnesota Nice” with these types of phone calls and just hang up.