CLEARFIELD – Area police departments warn residents of scams that not only occur during the holiday season, but throughout the year as well.
Officer Mike Morris, of the Lawrence Township Police Department, said computer scams have been on the increase due to the holiday season.
“People are going online and trying to do their shopping,” he said.
He said residents should use precaution when providing their personal information online. He said they should check their sources before finalizing online purchases.
Morris noted that online selling networks, such as E-Bay and PayPal have seller/buyer reviews. He encouraged residents to utilize both of those as well as the Better Business Bureau.
In addition to those online, Morris said others included donation scams, where individuals pose as representatives from charities to solicit funding.
Morris said residents should confirm that the organization to which they’re donating actually receives the funding. He suggested donations be made to charities that already have a positive track record.
Morris said residents also need to be cautious while doing their holiday shopping in stores.
He said residents should keep an eye on their packages and never leave them unattended. He also said they should be cautious if other shoppers ask to help them with their bags or cart.
“I hate to say that people should watch out for those who are trying to help. But someone might ask to do so, and then you come up short a couple bags,” Morris said.
Although scams pop up during the holiday season, Clearfield Borough Police Chief Jeff Rhone said he wouldn’t say that they’re more prevalent then.
“There are always new scams with new twists,” Rhone said.
Among the new twists, he said was a scam in which a recipient receives a check by mail and is asked to cash it. He said the recipient keeps a portion of the money but is instructed to send an amount back.
Rhone advised residents to examine their mail, looking for a full company name, address and contact information. He said they should also look at their mail’s print design to see if it appears valid.
According to Rhone, the mailing information on the envelope should match that in its enclosures.
“That information should be there, making it simple to contact them,” he said.
Rhone said residents should also determine if they’ve been in contact with the company.
“You can’t win the lottery if you didn’t enter. And, you should never have to submit money to claim a prize. That’s a definite giveaway,” he said.
But he said if residents are ever uncertain about the validity of mail from a company, they can contact their local police department.
“We can check into that for them,” Rhone said.