LEWISTON, Idaho – Members of our community were able to report these most recent scam attempts before any money changed hands, but folks should still know what to look out for.
If you are getting a call where someone is demanding money or claiming that you owe them, don't be too quick to comply.
"Most places are not going to demand immediate payment or want Bitcoin or some type of gift card or anything like that. Those are usually really good indicators it is a scam," said Lewiston Police Captain Jeff Klone.
There are two scams targeting folks in Lewiston according to LPD.
In one of them, someone will call you about an issue with your residence.
"It'll either reference their house insurance or some type of service that they pay for, for their house, that it is expired or has been nullified and they need to make an immediate type payment," Capt. Klone said.
Captain Klone says these callers will offer secondary contact information to confirm their stories.
To be safe, folks should check for themselves.
"Well, that phone number is just somebody else in the scam. It sounds legit but it's not. So the best thing to do there is find the phone number for your insurance company or whatever service that is and call them directly,” Capt. Klone said.
In the second, scammers are trying to present rentals or other items for sale on social media.
"They don't own that apartment or that house. They'll actually go and take a picture in front of a house or apartment or pull pictures off Zillow or some kind of realtor website," Capt. Klone said.
The poster will then demand payment, either partially or in full before folks are even allowed to view said rental.
"Anytime anybody asks you to put money down, sight on scene, just to save it, pretty good indication that its a scam as well," Capt. Klone said.
Captain Klone continued that the real estate scam especially shows itself in our area at the beginning of college semesters when there is an influx of people looking for a place to live.