Awareness helps protect people from increasingly sophisticated scammers

MOSES LAKE — A check of the records all the way back to Sumerian clay tablets shows that scammers are always looking for new ways to separate people from their money. Kyle Foreman, public information officer with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, said scamming is a volume business. 

“There are a lot of people that will say, ‘How would someone fall for that?’ The thing is, most people don’t fall for it. But if the scammer has, (as an example), a list of 100 people, he only needs one person on that list to fall for it and send money. It’s an industry unto itself.” 

International Fraud Awareness Week is Nov. 16-22, and Gesa Credit Union published some advice to help people avoid being victimized.  

People should be aware of what Gesa called “emotional manipulation,” the press release said. Foreman said scammers will use high-pressure tactics to try to push people into immediate action. 

“There’s a high-pressure component from swindlers who are calling and impersonating public officials. Those are the scammers that will try and make you believe that you’ve missed a court date, or you missed your jury summons,” Foreman said, “and because of that, you have an outstanding fine that you must pay.” 

Even if the call looks like it’s coming from a legitimate number, it’s a scam. The other giveaway is that scammers ask for payment in unusual ways, like gift cards.  

“The biggest thing we can emphasize with people is that no government agency is going to call you on the phone and demand money from you and then require you to use an unusual method to pay,” he said.  

Gesa said people should ask for identification from the caller, including the caller’s name, department and official contact number. Foreman said if people are suspicious, the first thing to do is hang up and call the agency or business directly.  

“One (tactic) the scammer will use is to create emails or phone messages that are meant to sound like a legitimate cause. You can always say, ‘Hey, I want to verify.’ If they're saying they’re calling from a public agency, you can always look that phone number up yourself and call the number that’s published. The same thing with a website. If you’re concerned that you might be being led to a fraudulent website, do your own research and find out what the real contact email is,” he said. 

As a financial institution, Gesa is advising people to make it as difficult as possible to reduce the chances of a scammer getting unauthorized access to online accounts. The press release suggests strong and unique passwords or multi-factor authentication and setting up transaction alerts. People also should avoid giving access to their computers and other devices unless they initiated the request and can verify identification 

Scammers will attempt to pressure people by sending messages that appear to come from financial institutions, the Gesa press release said, asking for sensitive information like phone numbers or passwords. People should avoid clicking on, or replying to, any of those links, it said, and should verify any communications through official contact information. 

Some scams have been around since the Egyptians were building the pyramids, like investments with guaranteed returns. People should do their own research and talk with a trusted financial advisor before investing in anything.  

Foreman cited the case of a Grant County resident who lost a substantial amount to a scammer posing as a law enforcement investigator.  

“Unfortunately, the scammer was the caller, and the caller was the thief,” Foreman said. 

The victim lost the money for good, he said, because the nature of scams makes it impossible to trace the money.  

“There’s no way you’re going to get it back,” he said. “It’s too sophisticated a network, and there are not enough resources available to track down all those scammers. The money is just gone.”