Duluth Police Warn Of Another Scam In The Northland
This is starting to sound a bit like a broken record: there is yet another scam that you should be aware of. This one has been reported in Duluth and is making the rounds, so much so that the Duluth Police Department has issued a warning about it.
There are so many scams these days. Either scammers are getting more persistent or we are simply more aware of the scams going around these days due to social media or how we live in a technical world!
One of the most recent scams I learned about was pretty shocking! It involved a scammer texting another person and pretending to be their mom or dad, simply hoping they would fall for it.
From there, the scammer says they are the parent or family member and that they need money. Of course, people don't think twice if they think it is a parent and give out personal or banking information.
The scam making its way across the Duluth area is not as shocking but it is still good to be aware of it. They issued a warning to Duluthians on Friday (October 28th), writing that they have been made aware of the scam and that it is circulating across the Northland.
According to their post, scammers are pretending to be a member of the Duluth Police Department and say they need to pay up or a warrant will be issued for their arrest. This is pretty random, considering a member of the DPD wouldn't randomly need you to give them money.
However, I can see someone falling for this if they were in a panic or thought for a second they were really going to be arrested. The Duluth Police Department says they will NEVER call you with an ultimatum like this.
As with any scam, whether over the phone or text, do not give out any personal or banking information to a stranger. If you think something seems suspicious, it probably is. If you want to double check that something is legitimate, hang up and call the organization directly.
In this instance, the Duluth Police Department asks that you call the Federal Trade Commission at 877-382-4357. Be aware and spread the word so that nobody falls for this scam.
It's likely scams aren't going to end any time soon. A recent study says that online scams rose by nearly ninety-percent from 2015 to this year alone. See? Scammers are likely here to stay so be aware!