Police warn about Internet, phone scams

By ART BUKOWSKI
akbukowski@record-eagle.com

October 17, 2008 12:00 am

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TRAVERSE CITY -- Larry Panek saw -- and heard -- the red flag.

The Garfield Township resident, 76, received a call this week from a man claiming to be from the federal government. The caller professed a need for Panek's personal information so he could issue him an important insurance number.

Panek saw no harm in giving the man his birth date, address and the name of his bank -- all information that could be easily obtained by anyone, Panek figured. But the next question raised his suspicions.

"Then he wanted the number on my account, and he was very insistent that I go get it," Panek said.

The caller urged Panek to fetch his checkbook and spill the information, but Panek wouldn't bite.

"I let him hassle me some, but there was just no way I was going to give him the number," he said.

The man called once more Thursday morning, but Panek again rebuffed his requests for sensitive banking information. Panek sniffed out the scam, but others could easily have succumbed.

"You've just got to be aware," Panek said. "You just don't give them that stuff."

In these tough economic times, police warn residents to be cautious of various scam artists who promise money or ask for sensitive data. They work through mail, telephone and the Internet, and they can be very convincing.

"People may be a little more willing to take a risk because of the (economy), and that's dangerous," Grand Traverse County Undersheriff Nate Alger said. "More often than not, if it sounds too good to be true, it's not true."

Alger's department hasn't seen a recent increase in scam complaints, he said, but the number has trended upward in the past few years. Internet and phone scams are eclipsing mail as the preferred venue of scammers, and the elderly often are the target of choice.

"They're a little more trusting, and they're a little more naive about the technological capabilities of the scam artists," Alger said.

The scammers are notoriously difficult to track down, Alger said. Most operate outside of the county, and some aren't even in the country. Because of this, police often face jurisdiction or logistics issues. In some instances, there isn't even enough evidence to launch an investigation, Alger said.

"It's very difficult to enforce, it's very difficult to investigate," he said.

Information and resources about various scams can be found at www.fraud.org and www.ic3.gov.