The Eugene Police Department says they received a report, Tuesday, from a member of the community regarding a scammer who tried to sell them a discount off their tv/internet service bill.
EPD says the victim was 'savvy ' and decided to call the involved company directly through a local number the obtained independently; not the number that was provided by the scammer. The company confirmed that the victim had encountered a scam.
Scammer's have multiple tools to fool victims out of their money. Sometimes scammers can 'spoof' a victim by impersonating email contacts or phone numbers. EPD warns that there are many scams out there that may try to alarm or scare victims.
The police department recommends if you receive a phone call and recognize that it's a scam to hang up immediately and report the information to ic3.gov.
EPD says if you are a victim of a scam and have incurred a loss to call the non-emergency line at 541-682-5111.
The Eugene Police Department offers these tips to look out for when encountering a possible scammer:
- If someone asks you for your cash, gift cards, credit card numbers, security log-ins, or other personal information (especially if you don’t know them well), the safest move is to refuse their request and check with the police, or find an independent way to contact a legitimate business and follow up rather than responding right away to the caller.
- Don’t give out computer or phone log-ins, personal or financial information to someone who calls you. If you are unsure, hang up and independently find the phone number of the alleged represented agency and call yourself. A law enforcement agency will not ask you for this type of information or request that money be sent by way of money order for any reason.
- Beware of high pressure techniques, such as the need to give information or make a decision on the spot.
- If it sounds quirky or weird, it probably is.