Cherokee County Sheriff's Office warns of scams

(From the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office warns residents of three scams which are circulating around the area.

In the first scam, someone will call claiming to be a representative of a known company, such as Amazon, stating you are owed a refund.

The caller will request you allow them remote access to your computer and further request you go to CVS Pharmacy (although they may use any other well-known store where gift cards are sold) to obtain a Target gift card. The scammer will then ask for the card information so they can apply the refund to the card.

The second scam which has resurfaced recently involves the scammer contacting a would-be victim by social media, claiming to be in the military overseas. The scammer will spend a considerable amount of time, even days and weeks, building a relationship with the victim, earning their trust, eventually requesting money due to an issue with them not getting paid correctly or an unexpected emergency for which they need money.

The third scam involves attempted identity theft and unemployment fraud. Thieves are filing unemployment claims on thousands of people across the country, attempting to get benefit checks sent to them. This is often discovered when a potential victim is sent a letter from the Department of Labor regarding their unemployment claim.

"It's important to remember to always be cautious when someone you don't personally know contacts you by phone or online and you should never hesitate to delete or hang up on anyone who is attempting to gain access to your personal information. In addition, there is no need for anyone you don't know to access your computer remotely, regardless of who they claim to be or what con they are using to try to gain your trust" stated Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves.

The Kansas Department of Labor has established an online form to report suspected unemployment fraud. It can be found at https://www.dol.ks.gov/fraud.