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ESCANABA -- With the holiday season right around the corner, local law enforcement authorities remind people to be cautious when it comes to possible scams.
According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, Michigan ranked 15th in the number of scam victims reported in 2018, with 7,533 consumers claiming a total loss of over $80 million.
Escanaba Public Safety Lt. Marc Zawacki and Community Service Trooper Dale Hongisto of the Michigan State Police – Gladstone Post both agreed that although certain scams might pop up more during the holidays, scams are a year-round problem.
"It does seem like we're just getting more and more scams in this day and age," Hongisto said.
According to Zawacki, there are online and phone scams, however, phone scams are far more prevalent in the area.
He said these scams are constantly evolving and becoming more and more elaborate, especially with scammers doing the research to target specific people.
An example of a common phone scam includes a scammer calling people to ask for money to assist a family member that had been arrested.
Zawacki said scammers are doing their homework and may even know family members' names.
Hongisto added other common phone scams include a scammer pretending to be with the IRS or the Social Security Administration saying there are warrants out for your arrest or other issues with your account information.
During the holidays, Zawacki said a common scam are individuals pretending to be charities asking for donations.
Both Hongisto and Zawacki agreed the best way to avoid falling prey to scams is to ask questions and verify.
Hongisto said more often than not, when scammers are questioned they tend to hang up.
Zawacki added scammer red flags include asking for your credit card numbers, personal information, Social Security number, account numbers, and gift cards or prepaid cards.
Scams tend to prey on the elderly and vulnerable individuals more than others.
Hongisto said the elderly generation are more trusting in nature because back in their younger days, they didn't have to worry about the types of scams seen today.
"And now it's hard for an elderly person to really come to grips that you shouldn't trust everybody anymore," he said.
According to Zawacki, scammers tend to target elderly because they don't understand their information is so readily available online so when scammers use personal information, like family members' names, they tend to believe it even more.
Although not as prevalent, online scams usually involve instances of purchasing items, from vehicles to other products, from another person.
Zawacki advised people making purchases from another individual to verify through some type of inspector services that what they're getting is worth what they're paying and make purchases in person.
He said huge red flags are if the price seems to good to be true and if they want money upfront.
People can exchange goods in the parking lot of the Escanaba Public Safety Department, as it is referred to as a safe trade area.
Zawacki said police won't get directly involved, but it allows for a safe space for people to meet up for exchanges.
Both Zawacki and Hongisto noted with the complexity that scams are conducted nowadays and the fact most are orchestrated outside of the U.S., it is getting harder and harder for local law enforcement to investigate scams.
"In closing, don't send information out, don't put anything on the internet that you don't want everybody to know, and use common sense," Zawacki said.