BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. – March 6, 2023 – The Bullhead City Police Department continues to warn the public, particularly seniors, about scams involving suspicious methods of payment.

A 70-year-old Bullhead City man was recently defrauded out of thousands of dollars. The victim reported that he contacted, who he believed was, “Apple Support Services” and was instructed to send money via Zelle and gift cards as a form of payment for services. The scammer stayed on the phone with the victim during the process of going to several local stores to purchase gift cards. The victim would then sit in his car and give the scam artist the gift card information over the phone.

Here are some red flags to help identify most scams:

• The caller is located outside of the country.
• You are asked to send money via wire transfer, prepaid credit cards, Bitcoin, gift cards or other suspicious methods that are untraceable! Once you’ve sent it, you cannot get it back.
• You are threatened something bad will happen if you do not send money or give your personal information. Recent scams have included threats like a warrant for your arrest or a loved one is in jail and needs money. Scammers even fraudulently pose as a relative or a police officer.
• You are told there is an urgency to send money or to give your personal/bank information immediately.
• You are asked to “fill in the blanks” for people snooping for information.
• You are urged to keep things a secret.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! If you did not buy a lottery ticket or enter to win a prize, you did not win.
• You are asked to donate money to a charity. Simply hang up and call the number you know to be legitimate.

For more information on scams, log on to www.ftc.gov or www.azag.gov. If you spot a scam, report it at ftc.gov/complaint. Your reports help the FTC and other law enforcement investigate scams and bring crooks to justice.