THE GORGE — A spate of successful online scams was reported in The Dalles early last week, with one victim losing more than $100,000, according to The Dalles Police Department (TDPD) media logs.
While there’s no known reason for this group of unrelated scams, reports sometimes seem to come in waves, said Detective Sergeant Austin Ell. Online scams are frequent and investigations can be long and difficult, he said, cautioning the public to beware of anyone who asks for payment in gift cards or cryptocurrency, and anyone who asks for money in relation to warrants or other police business.
Both techniques are common and scammers use them target communities with elderly people in particular.
In August, Hood River County Sheriff’s Office (HRCSO) cautioned residents about scammers impersonating deputies. “Many residents are claiming they’ve received a phone call from a deputy demanding payment to take care of a bench warrant,” read the press release.
Deputies will never do this.
And multiple citizens called HRCSO on Sept. 10, reporting they were contacted by a scammer who identified as “Mr. Davis,” and claimed to be from HRCSO.
“This is a scam. We do not call regarding warrants, jury duty or trying to collect money,” HRCSO warned.
On Sept. 9, a resident of The Dalles had reported sending $4,000 in gift cards to a scammer, and also giving information with which the scammer opened a fraudulent U.S. Bank account, then indebting the victim $390, according to TDPD media logs
That same morning, another The Dalles resident reported to TDPD that since April 2023, they had sent more than $100,000 in cash, gift cards and Bitcoin to a scammer allegedly from Texas, who stated they needed it for medical bills, among other reasons.
A third person reported signing up for what they believed was a real fan website, and sending $500 in gift cards to an alleged “Elon Musk.”
And on Wednesday, a fourth person was scammed out of $1,000 in Home Depot cards by someone pretending to be a security company online.
It’s too soon to know if these victims will get their money back. “If there’s anything to work on, if there’s any kind of tangible information that allows us, or gives us, a lead those can take months to try to resolve,” Ell said.
Ell said scammers generally generate their phone numbers and websites outside the U.S., and use technology obscure their exact location. If a large sum is lost, TDPD gets in touch with the FBI and IRS — organizations with more specialized technology and longer reach. “We use those resources quite often,” Ell confirmed. But recovering money lost to those scams is very difficult.
Phishing scams, where a scammer tries to get malicious software or control devices onto someone’s computer, are also common. Victims often unwillingly or unconsciously provide such scammers with banking information — like routing numbers or checking account numbers — that allows the scammer to access the victim’s banking account, once they have control of the victim’s computer.
In other cases TDPD has seen, the scammer contacts the victim and tells them they owe back taxes, or that a relative has been take into custody in another country, or that the scammer is a law enforcement official. Another common lie is that the victim won a prize of some sort, and must pay a fee in gift cards or cryptocurrency to receive it. Victims are directed to buy gift cards and send claim codes to the scammer.
“Once they release those numbers, those funds are quickly taken off those cards and never to be seen again,” Ell said.
No law enforcement agency will ever contact you and ask you to send funds of any kind, for outstanding warrants or a family member in custody, he emphasized. Any “law enforcement” personnel asking for funds over the phone are likely scammers with criminal intent. So is anyone asking for payment in cryptocurrency or gift cards.
Scammers try to target elderly people, who may have less awareness of how their computer works, or who “may not have a cognitive recognition that these things are happening,” said Ell.
If you get scammed, he added, immediately let your banking institutions and credit card companies know — most can protect accounts and will often replace lost money. And report the incident to local law enforcement in your jurisdiction.
Ell encouraged people who encounter a scam but don’t lose money, to report the scam anyway. That helps give early notice of any new, creative scams that appear, so officers can warn the public about them.
“There’s certain trends that happen, and some scams become more common,” Ell said.
If the person doesn’t want to interact with or bother law enforcement in person, they can file an online report via their jurisdiction’s website. This uses fewer police resources, but still gets the information logged.
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