LAKE HAVASU CITY – The Lake Havasu City Police Department would like to make the community aware of two recent local scams that have been reported.
In one of the scams, the caller indicates that your iCloud account has been compromised. The caller has you access your phone settings to turn certain functions off and on. The caller then asks you to access a specific website from your iPhone. This gives the caller access to your personal device and all of the information on your phone.
In another scam, the caller alleges to be from “Apple” (or some other computer technical service) and tells you that your computer has been hacked. The caller then asks you to purchase a gift card, provide the gift card number and login to your computer to give the caller access.
Scammers use urgency and threats to convince victims to cooperate, telling victims to provide immediate payment by unconventional means or sharing their personal identifying information. Do not provide your address, phone number, banking, credit card, social security number or any other personal information to anyone that calls you unsolicited.
A scam tactic called “spoofing” is used by scammers to make the caller identification appear to be from a local number or legitimate business. If you did not initiate the phone call, be hesitant and use caution with any information you provide to the caller.
The Lake Havasu City Police Department encourages the community to report these types of fraudulent calls and be aware that scammers are constantly devising new schemes in an attempt to get your money. Additional consumer tips of things you can do to avoid becoming a victim and find out about current scams can be found at the Federal Trade Commission’s website www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts.
