St. Cloud Police is not wanting people to become victims of scams.  Alicia Mages from Tri-County Crimestoppers says examples of potential scams can come in a variety of ways which include text messages, phone calls and emails.

Mages says people should be aware of the foreign lottery fraud.  She says the scam will tell you you've won but you'll need to send money to collect.  Mages says if you have to pay money to get your winnings then you know it's a scam.  She says legitimate winners would have to pay taxes but that wouldn't come until later.

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Another common scam according to Mages is the Grandparents scam.  This is when a caller claims to be the person's grand child and claims to be in jail or was in a car crash and needs money.  She says even if people do send money for this and realize their mistake please call police because sometimes those packages can be intercepted.

Mages says don't feel bad if you fall for any of these scams because the scammers are good and often play on your emotions.

If you have information on any crimes which includes scams in the St. Cloud Tri-County area please contact Tri-County Crimestoppers at 800-255-1301, go to tricountrycrimestoppers.org and click on submit a tip or download the P3 Mobile app.

Listen to my conversation with Alicia below.

 

 

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