Scam phone calls are on the rise in Alaska, according to the consumer Protection Unit of the Alaska Attorney General’s Office, and scammers are taking a more personal approach to their ruses.
One Alaskan, according to the CPU, recently lost $4,000 because she was duped that her grandson was in jail. This kind of scam is not new, with a scammer calling and convincing a grandparent that his or her family member needs money quickly.
In this case, the scammer got even more personal than usual. The woman who received the call needed her grandson to be a pallbearer in a family funeral. The scammer had found information online and knew this, according to CPU, choosing to call at a time when the victim was likely to be vulnerable.
CPU advises that anyone who receives a call that his or her family member is in trouble should immediately hang up and call known numbers to check the validity of the claim before sending money.
Other recent scams include: a caller claiming a family member has been kidnapped; a (phony) check in the mail from a foreign bank asking the recipient to deposit the check for them; a caller to ask you to “redirect” your down payment on a house to a new location; and IRS scammers. This time of year, IRS scams are common, according to CPU, and people should hang up on those who claim to be IRS callers and use IRS.gov to contact the IRS directly.
With scams becoming increasingly personal, CPU advises people to protect their personal information on the internet. CPU also asks that people report scams using the form located at http://law.alaska.gov/department/civil/consumer/cp_complaint.html.
