Officers caution community on credit card scams

Home City News Officers caution community on credit card scams

Hillsdale citizens should be on the lookout for scammers who use email and credit card machines to steal money. These scams are common in Hillsdale, and in light of recent credit card scams, the Hillsdale Police Department wants to help people prevent their money from being stolen. Emails have tricked Hillsdale residents into giving up their money, with some help from the Police Department, everyone can learn to watch out for scammers.

The emails often read something like:

“I am a hitman, and someone hired me to take a hit out on you. I’m having some reservations, but he’s paying me $20,000 to kill you, so if you pay me $5,000, I won’t kill you and tell him I did.”

“Almost every day, someone calls me about a money scam,” Detective Brad Martin of the Police Department said. “We try to get their money back, but sometimes it’s too late.”

“It’s Dave, your cousin. I’m in Spain on vacation, and my wallet was stolen — I could use some money from you, if you could send that my way. I’ll pay you back when I’m home,” another email read.

Throughout the annals of email history are estranged Nigerian princes, distant relatives out of money, sympathetic hitmen, and entrepreneurs seeking startup money for their orphanages in Thailand. According to Martin, these kinds of emails often convince recipients to give money to the sender.

A Hillsdale resident was visiting the Police Department  last Tuesday to discuss a case in which his credit card was used for several purchases in Texas. Martin has been following the case and working with local authorities in Texas to try to reimburse the purchases.

Email scams where the sender asks only for money are easier to stop than scams like the one in Texas, police Chief Scott Hephner said, because in an email asking for credit card information, the scammer can keep sucking money until the credit card company or the card owner catch on. Before card or identity theft, the worst scamming situation would be if a card’s information was taken from a business card reader after swiping the card as payment.

“Ninety percent of what we deal with in terms of credit card scams are from Kroger or Wal-Mart,” Martin said.

While neither Martin nor the resident know how the Texas scammer obtained the card information, Martin advises local residents use caution when making purchases with their credit cards.

In light of September’s Home Depot Inc. credit scam and December’s Target debacle, Martin is encouraging everyone to be careful with their money. While it is difficult to catch scammers who use card readers to steal data, identifying and preventing fraudulent money transactions over the Internet and email is something anyone can do, and Martin has some tips:

  • Use common sense. Most times, the scammer is playing off of fear or guilt, and the absurdity of the request can sometimes negate instinct. If it sounds dubious, go with your gut and hit “delete.”
  • You will never have to pay money to get money. If you’ve actually “won a contest” or “earned a prize,” you shouldn’t have to put in your credit card information.
  • If someone emails you requesting money you owe, but you don’t know the person or the reason why you allegedly owe money, then you probably aren’t indebted to the person. If you actually owe him money, you’ll figure it out when he or she confronts you.
  • Above all else, be cautious. The Police Department is glad to help sort out any questions about possible scams, and people can stop in and speak with Detective Martin or other officers who have experience dealing with these matters and can prevent your money from being stolen before it’s too late.