WAPAKONETA — The Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office wishes to urge the citizens of Auglaize County to be diligent with protecting themselves from falling victims to scams. In the past few months, the office has taken numerous scam reports with the total financial loss nearing over $100,000. It is imperative that citizens are proactive with protecting themselves as once the scam has taken place the damages can be irreversible.

Below are a few of the many tactics’ scammers use:

• Scammers pretend to be from an organization you know, or from companies that you own products from them (Amazon, eBay, Walmart.) They are relying on the likelihood of you being associated with the companies.

• Scammers typically will tell you there is either a problem or a prize. They will typically want you to pay an amount to clear your name or pay fees to obtain a prize. “Pay to Win” is a good sign it’s too good to be true it most likely is.

• Scammer’s act with urgency. They use fear and intimidation to force you into making a poor decision. They will also tell you that you cannot discuss the incident with family, banks, accountants, law enforcement or you will be in further trouble.

• Scammers seek payment in ways that do not make sense. In most cases, scammers will require a person to purchase gift cards and send them the photos of the pin numbers immediately. Scammers commonly use this technique because it’s quick and untraceable.

• Scammers calling and stating they are from Microsoft or another technology company that will state there is an issue with your computer. They will then instruct you over the phone on how to go to a website to access your computer remotely. Once they have control of your computer, they will seek out financial information with the aim to exploit you.

• Be cautious that scammers can “spoof” phone numbers which make it appear that an organization is calling from their real number. If you have a bad feeling hang up and call the number back directly

Scammers will attack all fronts by phone calls, emails, texts messages, written letters.

The tactics and techniques scammers use are constantly changing to continue to steal money from unsuspecting victims. To avoid their tactics, never give out any personal information over the phone, and if you feel someone is trying to scam you talk to someone you trust so you can run the information by them.