Scams, frauds on the rise during holiday season

KILGORE — With the holiday season in full swing, the Kilgore Police Department is highlighting an uptick in scams and frauds. The police department is warning residents of frauds and scams that pressure people for some form of payment in exchange for a prize or to resolve some type of problem such as tax issues, computer viruses or arrest warrants.

“Scammers often insist you pay them using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, wiring money through a company like Western Union, using gift cards or shipping a cashier’s check through a parcel company,” Kilgore PD said.

According to our news partner KETK, scammers have tried everything such as sweepstakes scams, warrant scams to ransom scams where they claim to be a government agent informing them they have detected illicit materials on their computer or device or their identity has been stolen.

Scammers will try to keep people on the phone and engaged for as long as possible to avoid giving people time to think about what is occurring.

Since most of these crimes are committed by people outside the country, once the money is sent, it is gone and not recoverable. Family members are asked to sit down with their elderly family members as they are the most vulnerable to falling for the scams.

For more information on how to avoid scams or report a fraud, people are asked to visit the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice website.