Medford, Ore. — Scams of all kinds are plaguing many people in Southern Oregon.
This week Medford Police said one man almost became a victim when someone filed taxes under his name.
Fortunately there was a hiccup with the money transfer and the right person got the tax return.
Police said tax fraud is one of many scams prevalent in thecommunity.
Tax scams are no surprise to Annette Holman at Liberty Tax Service in the Medford Center.
“There has definitely been an increase,” said Holman.
While Holman said none of her clients have had any problems, tax fraud is a big issue.
“People’s identities are being taken. So it’s a scary thing,” she said.
Liberty Tax is taking steps to prevent a data breach.
“We got a new encryption just today,” said Holman.
On Thursday, Medford Police issued a warning on social media, telling people about popular scams.
“It seems like the scam artists are just relentless,” said Lt. Mike Budreau with the Medford Police Department.
“They’re hitting a lot of folks in various different ways,” he continued.
One tactic scammers are using is posing as a buyer on sites like Craigslist.
Often, the scammer claims they sent too much money for whatever they’re purchasing.
“Anytime they over pay you and you have to send money back to them it’s a scam 100% of the time,” said Budreau.
Another big scam involvessomeone calling pretending to be the IRS,threatening the people they call and saying they owe the IRS money.
Budreau said a red flag is someone asking for payment that includes Green Dot or prepaid Visa cards.
According to Budreau and other government officials, agencies don’t put out threatening phone calls.
If you’re unsure, police say, just hang up.
Victims of a scam can call police. Howeverothers who believe they’ve been contacted by someone who may be a scammer can report it to the federal Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Other scams to watch out for: diamond scams
This weeka fake diamond scam left a Central Point Woman out thousands of dollars.
On Thursday, the Beaverton Police Department said they had a similar scam hit their area in 2013.
Beaverton Police said the suspects in both cases could be the same and that they could be headed north.
They say the suspects are Sandra Reales, Yenmy Reales, and an unidentified male.
Police said they target Hispanic women in retail stores and request assistance from the victim after telling the victim an elaborate story.
Medford Police said it’s crucial to get any jewelry checked out by a professional who can verify them, especially diamonds.
Other scams to watch out for: grandson scams
Recently, police also said scammers have been using family members as a tactic to get the elderly to send money.
It’s called the “grandson scam” and back in January, it cost one Medford woman $8000 when someone called her pretending to be her grandson. The person asked for money on a prepaid card to get out of jail.
According to Sergeant Brent Mak with the Medford Police Department, some scammers will even use the names of local law enforcement to try and convince the victims to participate in the scam.
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