Scammers targeting people of all ages via social media

The Chippewa County Sheriff’s office says it is seeing an uptick in complaints of juveniles being targeted by scammers on social media platforms.

“My No. 1 thing, is that juveniles, or even anybody, should not be communicating with people they do not know on social media,” said Randy Stearns, investigator with the Chippewa County Sheriff’s office.

One of the scams the sheriff’s department has reported seeing, involves scammers contacting the victim over social media and coercing the victim to cash a fraudulent check, before transferring a portion of the money back by other means. When the check is found to be fraudulent, the victim is at a financial loss.

Stearns says, if someone is offering you money in any way, shape or form, it is probably too good to be true.

He also says people should keep an eye on their banking statements and the statements from their children, since so much banking can be done online now.

Stearns says another common scam he sees, is people paying for goods, via gift cards.

“If people are calling you by telephone or contacting you via social media, telling you that you owe money, I don’t know of any legitimate businesses that need to be paid in gift cards,” said Stearns.

He says people need to talk to their family, including juveniles, about online safety.

“These types of scams are very, very difficult to solve and a lot of times, it’s leading to jurisdictions outside of the United States,” said Stearns. “So, our hands are tied when it gets to that point.”

Stearns says, if someone believes they have been scammed, they should contact their bank and law enforcement, as soon as possible.