MASON CITY – Police are warning of a new scam that could potentially reach citizens in Mason City.
During Tuesday afternoon’s “Coffee with a Cop”, Mason City police department’s Crime Prevention Coordinator, Jeremy Ryal, explained that scam artists are continually looking for ways to take advantage of folks. As he and the police department monitor trends of scam attempts from around the country, they also take note of scam attempts affecting citizens now.
Officer Ryal says the latest attempt to dupe a Mason City resident came in a report Tuesday afternoon. A resident told police that a caller made contact with her and claimed to be a family member, then attempted to get the resident to purchase iTunes cards and send in the numbers on the cards, so they could be redeemed.
The scam artist had some talent, apparently, and the resident nearly fell for the scam. She actually purchased the iTunes cards and called the crook back. It was only then that the resident figured out this was a bad deal and ended the call. The card numbers were not sent, but, the cards cannot be returned.
Officer Ryal says he’s not exactly sure how much value the scammer would get from the iTunes card numbers, but obviously, “they know what they are doing, and what can be of value to them, so they will pursue these things”.
He explained that scams come in many forms, like romance scams, grandparent scams (where the “grandkid” calls and says they are locked up in a foreign land, for example, and need money to get out of jail) and many, many others. He says the best defense is to offer to call them right back and then to check the number they give (for validity) and also to touch base with other family members who might be able to verify any issues. Another tip: Don’t send money to someone you don’t know via Western Union.
“It’s very difficult to ever get those funds back,” Officer Ryal says, once the money is sent and the reason turns out to be a scam.
The good news, he says, is that foreign countries where the scams are coming from, like Nigeria, are actually beginning to police their own citizens and try to prevent the scammers from succeeding.
