March Scambuster Corner

Barbara EJ Bennett | Larimer County Sheriff’s Office

Here are some new/ongoing alerts to be on the lookout for.

COUNTY SHERIFFS OF COLORADO (CSOC) – calls you for a donation to the Sheriff’s organization. Stop! The CSOC will never call for donations.

XCEL ENERGY – calls you for overdue payment or power will be turned off in 30 minutes. Want you to pay by cash app (Zelle, Venmo) or money/gift card. Scam!

PUBLISHER’S CLEARING HOUSE – You won $5.5m and a Mercedes! It’s on the way to you -just pay luxury tax (or income tax) of $1,800! (Don’t look for the car pulling up any time soon.)

EXTORTION – private pictures you shared on TikTok or Snapchat with someone online. Now they want you to pay so they don’t share with the world. Never put pictures on any social media you don’t want the world to see.

FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE – you ordered something to be shipped, paid by cash app, and never received the item. The seller profile is now deleted. Without purchase protection or using a credit card or PayPal – your money is gone.

MCAFEE, GEEK SQUAD, AMAZON PRIME, ETC. – billed you for renewal – click or call if you didn’t order. STOP. Don’t click or call. They are just phishing to see if you bite.

ROMANCE/DATING SITE SCAMS – Watch out for red flags – never provide personal info, private email, or money to someone online. In 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission, $541m was sent to romance scammers across social media. Please see our website for details, full newsletters, and more scams.

Please be safe. Here is one of my favorite Irish sayings – hope all scammers are limping!