YORK COUNTY, Va. — A local sheriff issues an important warning that could save you thousands of dollars. There's been a huge increase in scams, with new ones specifically targeting seniors, according to York-Poquoson Sheriff Ron Montgomery.
"By the time they wire money or the ones where they're giving cash away, they're fairly impossible to solve," said Montgomery.
In an instant, the money is gone, and typically, so are the criminals. That's why Sheriff Montgomery is having an identity theft and scams class on Wednesday, so people won't give away their hard-earned money to bad guys.
Identity theft and scams class flyer
He says he didn't realize families were getting heavily targeted until he reviewed the crime stats from last year and saw families lose over a million dollars in cash to these scams.
Criminals are getting creative and using fear tactics to get people to give up their money, Montgomery shared.
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Along with spoofing the Sheriff's office phone numbers and pretending to be deputies, there's even a new scam that officials say parents need to be aware of.
"Now that college students are back on campus, that's when the scams that involve them become more prevalent. Parents or grandparents will receive calls from their college students saying they've gotten into some type of trouble in college, and this money needs to be paid now," Montgomery said.
If you receive something suspicious, especially a pop-up on your computer, a strange text or an email – contact your local law enforcement. Law enforcement will never call you and ask for personal information or money, Montgomery said.
