Local police warn about phone scam

Article Photos

ESCANABA - Police are warning area residents about a telephone scam in the Escanaba area. They are advising people to never give out personal information over the phone.

The scam starts with a phone call with a recorded message. The recording indicates there is a freeze on accounts through the Peninsula Federal Credit Union, said Escanaba Public Safety Det. Lt. Darin Hunter. The message then instructs the person to call a toll free number to access their account and requests their credit card number.

"Do not type in your credit card number. Our local Peninsula Federal Credit union is not involved," said Hunter in a news release. "The best remedy for this scam is not to call back as instructed and, if you do, do not type or give out your credit card number."

To prevent further unwanted telephone calls, Hunter suggested citizens register with the National Do Not Call Registry via the Internet at www.donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222.

"This should help avoid some of those annoying telemarketers and scams," Hunter said.

Delta County Sheriff's Det. Dan Johnson said his department has received a couple complaints concerning this recent telephone scam asking for credit card numbers from bank accounts.

Johnson said he telephoned the callback number given and it reaches a beauty school in Texas, likely another victim in the scam, he said.

Johnson said his best advice is "don't give out any information. It's as simple as that. And report it to us so we can look into it further."

Delta County Sheriff Gary Ballweg also advised computer users to not open suspicious e-mails, especially regarding money, drugs and relationships.

"If you don't recognize the person it's coming from, don't even open up the e-mail. Someone will contact you by another means if it's important," Ballweg said.

In addition to telephone and e-mail scams, Ballweg also alerts citizens' to false claims that may show up in the mail. One of the latest mail scams involves large checks worth $7,000 or $8,000 which receivers are asked to deposit and then return a portion back to someone.

These checks appear very authentic but eventually turn out to be bogus, he said. Victims gets hurt in the long run because they often have to pay back the funds to the banking institution, he added.

---

Jenny Lancour, (906) 786-2021, ext. 143, jlancour@dailypress.net