As Thanksgiving kicks off the traditional holiday season, law enforcement officials near and far are warning people – especially seniors – to be on their toes for potential scams.
“The holiday season, it seems like the bad guys come out of the woodwork,” said Woody Spencer, spokesman for the Kinston Department of Public Safety. “They’re trying to – the holiday spirit, they’re trying to take advantage of that. They’re trying to make quick money. But, the holiday season, unfortunately, brings out the good and also brings out the bad.”
KDPS recently alerted area residents of a construction scam pitched to a woman regarding roof work.
“The reason we ran with that in the first place was that it was just brought up – this lady, they tried to get her to pay $3,500. She didn’t do that,” Spencer said. “And we thought this was a good time to put word out that they’re going to be out there. I don’t know if they’re going to be here in Kinston right now, but sooner or later, they’re going to come through.
He continued, “And, we just want people to be aware of that. Don’t be forced or pressured into doing anything that you’re not comfortable doing.”
There were four white males riding in a black Dodge Dakota pickup truck with a ladder rack going around the woman’s neighborhood.
“To me, that’s a waste of manpower,” Spencer said. “That’s not reputable. Just be aware of that. If you need someone to come look at your house, then you can solicit them. It doesn’t make sense for them to come to your home when you didn’t call and ask them to come.”
But that’s only one of many angles criminals typically take in separating a victim from their money. While high temperatures are expected to stay in the 50s and low 60s for most of the rest of the year, low temperatures will dive into the 30s, and some people are impersonating utility companies threatening to cut off electricity.
“The scammers tell customers that they owe money on their utility bill, and that their power will be disconnected if they do not pay immediately,” the state Department of Justice Consumer Protection Division announced Nov. 15. “The consumer is told to purchase a pre-paid credit card and provide the card’s account number, or send the card by mail.”
And as far as other scams, while speaking at the Charlotte Better Business Bureau last week, state Attorney General Roy Cooper said in his experience it was best to simply ignore telemarketers and door-to-door salesmen.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.