It seems scams are on the rise across Colorado. There are phishing scams that imitate bank or financial websites, Amazon email shipping notices for products never ordered, emails indicating you’ve received a rich inheritance, and so on! These scams are trying to obtain your bank account numbers or sending money by clicking on a link.
I receive many alerts from Better Business Bureau that I list on our 50 Plus News home page (www.50plus.news) under Latest News to notify our readers of these scams. Recently, I received this alert from the Larimer County Sheriff ’s Office affecting local residents. I felt it was worth repeating for our readers.
1. Someone from a local business calls a resident and the business’ real phone number appears in caller ID. It is a scammer using the name and number of a legit business.
2. A fictitious White Pages organization calling to verify your information for their white pages. They want payment for your listing.
3. Another fictitious organization representing Google for a false listing on their website is just another scam.
4. Scammers frequently get real names and businesses (including law enforcement names) to tell you of a warrant for you, or some other scare tactic to get money.
These are just several popular scams, but be aware of any unknown caller asking for information you normally wouldn’t provide. Remember the best response to scammers is to just hang up!
Here are a couple links to reduce these robo or nuisance calls: list your home and mobile number on the Do Not Call Registry at https://www.donotcall.gov/ and sign up for the “nomorobo” calls at https://www.nomorobo.com/. They both work!
This is another example of technology working for you!
~ Bob Larson is a technologist, photo-journalist, and our Marketing Director for 50 Plus.