COWLEY COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — A Kansas sheriff is warning people to be aware of two different scams after residents lost more than $36,000 to scammers.
The Cowley County Sheriff’s Office said both scams started with phone calls.
“The first was the ‘Cybersecurity for Amazon’ which resulted in a $21,500 loss in Apple gift cards and the scammer getting all the individual’s banking information by posing as a government agent attempting to stop scammers,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
“The second was a DEA Agent collecting money or they were going to have the individual arrested and prosecuted,” the post says. “The victim in this case was out $15,000.”
The sheriff offers this advice:
- If someone calls you and requests you send money via gift cards like Apple, Greendot, or Visa, this is not a way to pay a debt to a collector.
- Do not give personal information to anyone who calls you that you don’t know.
- Never send cash to a debt collector who claims it’s the “safest way to do this.”
If you have any questions about scam calls, please call your local law enforcement agency.