MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The Myrtle Beach Police Department is working to help people protect themselves from scams and fraud.
Corporal Thomas Vest with the police department said one of the biggest problems with people getting scammed is that they don’t take time to think about the situation before they act. “A lot of the scams are very plausible,” said Cpl. Vest. “Scammers want you to make a decision quickly, but you need to take time to think about what you’re doing, and maybe ask someone else if they’ve heard of it before.”
He said in the past month, they’ve had 10 reports of fraud cases, and he said the primary reason people are able to get information like credit card numbers is because people are willingly giving it away. “It’s very easy to believe right away,” said Cpl. Vest.
He gave some examples of recent situations they’ve seen from people calling saying a loved one has been kidnapped, to people saying the police department is calling about a warrant or a ticket. He also suggests paying attention to things you did or did not purchase. “An iTunes receipt for a purchase you haven’t made,” said Cpl. Vest. “You click to dispute the purchase and it asks you for all of your personal information, and the primary way that these individuals are able to get that is because we have given them information.”
Cpl. Vest said if you want to keep up with the latest scams going around, you can visit the Federal Trade Commission website by clicking here. The police department is also holding its first Fraud Protection Seminar on Wednesday. It starts at 6 p.m. at the Myrtle Beach Train Depot, and anyone is welcome to attend.
