(Havre) – Recently there has been an increase of scammers that have been targeting Montanans by claiming to be a part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sandra Barker Spokesperson for the Salt Lake City FBI talks about the scams.
“So recently the FBI Salt Lake City Division, which covers Utah, Idaho, and Montana, was made aware of an increase of reports of scammers targeting people in Montana basically impersonating an FBI agent. We’ve heard of several cases in Montana where victims were contacted by phone by someone claiming to be an FBI agent and that they were told that their Identity had been stolen. They were given instructions to move money out of their bank and investment accounts to the so-called FBI for safe keeping. These types of scams and these calls are not new, and a lot of times people do try to impersonate an FBI agent or someone from another possible government agency or organization, but we just want people to be cautious. Because the FBI will never call and ask for any personal information over the phone or ask for any money.
She goes on to explain the signs people should look out for.
“If somebody calls you claiming to be someone with the FBI or another government agency you know you can verify that information by hanging up and looking up the official number. So, they can call our office in Salt Lake City and say, ‘hey I just got a call did someone from your agency really call me.’ Also just know that we will never call you to demand any sort of money or personal information, threaten you with arrest. We will never ask you to deposit your money, ask you to transfer money or get some gift cards. Things like that. So, really those should be red flags that people are hearing for when they get these calls.”
She also talks about how many people in Montana are affected by scammers.
“The FBI’s internet crime report for 2022 shows that there were over 11 thousand victims of government impersonation scams and people lost over $240 million dollars in Montana in 2022. We are aware of 44 victims who lost approximately $48,000 to these scammers. Keep in mind these are just number form the people who are reporting it to us there are probably a lot more cases out there that we’re not aware of. So, if people want to call and file a complaint you can definitely do so by calling the FBI at 800-CALLFBI we also have an online tip form at tip.fbi.gov and you can also file a report with our internet crime compliant center and that’s at ic3.gov.”
She finishes by saying how people can help stop these scams.
“So, really we encourage people to report these scams to our IC3 because even just filing a complaint allows us to identify leads and patterns that we receive daily and then those complaints are then referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency. So, even if you don’t think it’s a big deal call us and let us know just so we can have record of that and use that all for public awareness and crime prevention education efforts.”
