Scammers Ramping Up Their Game; Dodge Their Tricks With These Tips: Shaker Heights Police

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH - The shame of it is that scammers prey upon basic human emotions. They manipulate people by convincing them something terrible has happened - your granddaughter has been arrested and she needs bail money, your brother was hit by a car and he can't pay the hospital bill - and then hitting them up for cash.

As the holidays ramp up, so do scammers and their efforts to separate you from your hard-earned money. With the gift-giving season upon us, pinching pennies together is more important than ever. The Shaker Heights Police Department has been dealing with a rash of residents that have become victims of these types of scams and now they're warning everyone to steer clear.

"Scams are taking place in Greater Cleveland asking people to make payments over the phone for things such as taxes, hospital bills, bail money, debt collection, and utility bills," the department said in a statement. "Many times these scams are being committed using gift cards. Regardless of how this is accomplished, we want to make sure our residents are aware of these scams."

The department said that the most commons scams follow a similar pattern.

"It doesn't matter what the reason for the payment is, the scams generally follow similar patterns. A victim receives a call that induces some level of panic or urgency to make a payment by purchasing gift cards from a local retailer. After the cards have been purchased, the victim is asked to pay by sharing the code on the back of the gift card with the caller over the phone," the statement continued.

As a rule, if a caller asks that you pay for an outstanding bill or bail or whatever, in gift cards then you should assume you're being scammed. If you ever feel you may be the victim of a hoax, or are even just questioning the situation, you can call your local police department.

"Just call us," Shaker Heights Police said. "We're here to help."

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