Havre police see rise in scam calls

Scammers are targeting the community and the Havre Police Department is urging residents to be aware of a recent spike in scam calls.

Ryan Pearson, senior patrol officer for the Havre Police Department said that last Thursday the police department received 20 to 30 scam reports.

The main scams in question concern the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Government Grants Department and calls stating a relative of the phone call recipient is in jail in another country.

Pearson said the scammers use money as a threat in the IRS scam calls, claiming that if the phone call recipient does not pay the amount requested, a warrant will be put out for their arrest.

“Essentially the (scam) caller is claiming to be with the IRS and (saying) you owe a certain amount in back taxes,” he said.

With the United States Government Grants Departmen scam, Pearson said, the calls concern the phone call recipient being approved for grant money. For example, if one “qualifies” for $7,000, the scammer states that the person in question would need to pay $250 to $500 to have access to the money.

With the relative in jail scam, Pearson said the scammer states that a relative of the person being called is in jail in another country such as Canada or Mexico and that they need the recipient to post money for bond immediately. The scammers typically request wire transfers.

Pearson recommends for people to be careful, be wary of out-of-state phone numbers and look out for requests to make strange transactions, such as sending money to a third party in relation to the phone call.

Pearson added that people who suspect they have been a victim of a scam can report it to Havre Police at 265-4361 and/or submit a report at the Internet Crime Complaint Center website, http://www.ic3.gov.