VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Valley City Police Department has been receiving an increase in reports of scam calls from city residents.

Sgt. Nicholas Horner shared some tips and information to spot and help deter scam calls.

1. Scam artists pretend to be people we want to trust, like government officials, law enforcement, bank staff or even family members; o Never give out personal information or send money in response to an unexpected contact, no matter how urgent it may seem.
o If the caller threatens you with a warrant, informs you will be arrested, or in some sort of trouble if you hang up or do not provide the information requested, the caller is most likely is a scammer. Law enforcement will not have a warrant for you if they do not already have your information.
o Scammers will often pretend to be the IRS stating you are being investigated and they need your personal information. The IRS will not ask for your personal information over the phone.
o Call your local law enforcement agency to verify the information if concerned.

2. Don’t trust your Caller ID – it’s not who you think it is.
o Readily available technology makes it easy to create a fake name and number to display on Caller ID or as the “sender” of a text message.
o Many times the phone number may appear to be local but it has been computer generated.

3. If you are asked to send or wire money, or to buy prepaid cash cards, stop!
o A legitimate government agency or business will never ask you to wire money, buy prepaid cards (including prepaid gift cards such as iTunes, Best Buy, etc.), or deposit money into another person’s account.
o As soon as you complete the transaction or read off the numbers from the back of the prepaid card, your money is gone. It is not possible to get that money back.
o It is a common practice for scammers who contact private property sellers to arrange a sale. The scammer will send you a check for an amount of money more than asking price. The scammer will request you to write a personal check for the difference. The scammers check may show deposited in your account but bounce later. If this occurs have the individual send you a certified check for the proper amount. Use great caution when dealing with checks for individuals or businesses you do not know.

4. Hang up, every time.
o Don’t “press 1” to be taken off a call list; all it does is confirm that you listened to the message, which will result in more calls.

5. Report, information given to scammers to your financial institutions.
o If your information has been given to a scammer contact your financial institutions to inform them of the possible leak. Financial institutions can place watches on your accounts to assist in fraud investigation.
o If social security information is given contact Social Security Office for further help and reference.

For further information on common scams, do not call registry, identity theft reporting, and further scam prevention you can go to the Attorney General Website at https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov

This Information was gathered from Attorney General Website and the Valley City Police Department.