Alexandria detective provides FRAUD, SCAM TIPS

By Celeste Edenloff Alexandria Echo Press

Scam alerts are, unfortunately, not something new. If you visit the Federal Trade Commission website for consumer advice, there are many articles related to scams. Some of the topics include how to spot, avoid and report weather-related scams, avoiding scams when you travel, nanny and caregiver scams, gift card scams, tax rebate scams and imposter scams that target veterans, just to name a few.

Locally, if you have questions about scams, you can reach out to the Alexandria Police Department 320-763-6631 or the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office 320-762-8151.

Two detectives from the Alexandria Police Department – Josh Whiting and Darcie Zirbes – can be contacted for presentations related to scams or for questions.

“We give presentations to many different groups of people and organizations regarding scams and frauds,” said Det. Zirbes.

She can be reached by calling 320-759-3720 and Whiting can be reached at 320-759-3721.

Zirbes provided several scam and fraud tips, including the following:

► You CANNOT win a contest, lottery, sweepstake, etc. that you didn’t enter.

► Do not pay to collect a prize or send someone money out of your “winnings.”

► Agencies are not going to ask you to pay for something by purchasing gift cards and sending them to the person contacting you.

► Do not agree to receive or send money or packages for people you do not know or haven’t met in person.

► Do not open a bank account or cryptocurrency account at someone else’s direction.

► Do not send money to an online friend or love interest, even if they send money to you first.

► No one should tell you not to trust your bank or the police.

► Be vigilant about websites you click on. Some scammers will change just a letter or two in order to trick people.

► Be vigilant about email addresses or any email you open as well because scammers will change something in the email address to make it look legitimate as well.

► The Social Security Administration will never call you to confirm any information. They will contact you by mail.

► The Internal Revenue Service will always contact you by mail before calling you about unpaid taxes. Also, they will not threaten to have police arrest you for not paying a bill.

► Tech support companies will not reach out to you by phone or email to fix an issue you haven’t called the company about already.

“If you have any questions or do not know if something is real, call law enforcement to ask for help,” said Zirbes.