Police chief says scams on the rise

WASHINGTON — Police Chief Jim Lester said his department had seen a steady uptick in phone and online scams, most of them targeting older adults.

“We’re seeing it more an more frequently,” he said. “A couple times a week, we get a report that somebody’s trying to send some money to somebody that they met online … it’s sad to see people lose thousands of dollars, and a lot of times our hands are tied because the scammer is overseas and we can’t trace it back to any one person.”

Lester gave a presentation at the Washington Public library on the subject last week, sponsored by Washington State Bank. Bank President and CEO Sue Basten said preventing incidents was important to the company.

“We see this as something that is a true risk to our community and our customers, and it’s important to get that knowledge out there,” she said. “This is just a way to make people aware and talk about it, because people don’t always report that they’ve been scammed. It’s not something you should hide, you should get out and talk and make sure people are aware.”

Specifically, the department has seen growing numbers of romance scams.

“This involves a scammer establishing an online relationship using a fake social media profile, establishing trust and building their relationship over sometimes several months,” Lester said. “We have seen these types of scams in the last several months where unsuspecting victims have lost tens of thousands of dollars because their social media ‘friend’ had convinced them to send them money.

“We like to believe that our older residents are safe in their own homes, but unfortunately, there are very sophisticated groups working in concert to find ways to prey on someone’s loneliness and take advantage of them.”

The police chief said there were four big tells for someone trying to get away with something. Scammers tend to pretend they’re from an organization you know, claim there’s an emergency or a prize you’ve won, pressure you to act immediately and require payment in a specific way. When in doubt Lester said people could follow some best practices to stay safe.

“One of the biggest things on the phone scams is, if they ask you to pay with a gift card, it’s probably a scam,” he said. “No legitimate business is going to want you to make a payment with a gift card, that’s a big thing.”

While it can be embarrassing to fall victim to a scam, Lester said it was important to get in touch with law enforcement.

“It’s important to monitor what you’re doing online, and not hesitating to call if they’re out money,” he said. “It’s nothing to be ashamed about. Scammers are slick, they talk pretty smooth, they oftentimes will use their first name when they’re talking to a victim.”

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