The Oxford Police Commission presents tips on how to identify scams

The Oxford Police Community Relations and Review Commission met on Feb. 19 at Oxford Seniors to share tips and aid for identifying and handling.

Oxford Police Chief John Jones shared that the department has seen an increase in online scams around town.

“These criminals are getting more and more brazen,” Jones said. “They’re using different methods to rob people.”

Accompanying Jones at the meeting were three detectives who deal in part with local scams. 

Mark Ledermeier, a detective who has worked at the Oxford Police Department (OPD) for over 15 years, said that scams are a growing problem.

“They’ve been getting more and more complex,” Ledermeier said, and the scammers are  “getting smart.”

Ledermeier noted that scammers tend to pose as officials, law enforcement and even federal agents.

Ledermeier said a common scam he has seen locally has been related to advance-fee loans. The scammer contacts an individual via email, claiming they qualify for a loan or owe money. If the individual clicks the links provided in the email, their personal and private information will be stolen.

“There’s a lot more scams out there that’ll get through email,” Ledermeier said, adding that the best counter to these scams, if one clicks on the link, is to simply shut down the computer.

Spoof phone numbers are an area of concern for detectives as well. Scammers falsely claim to be a caller from a different source, such as a bank, and mask the real phone number to protect their identity.

“It’s very difficult to trace back the (phone) numbers,” Ledermeier said.

Ledermeier stated all payments individuals should make should be done in-person and never over the phone, especially if the caller is an unknown person or someone you cannot confirm is sharing their real identity.

OPD Detective John Thrasher said scammers can be aggressive and use public information, such as names of family members or friends, to appear more reputable. Thrasher added that most scam callers are not local.

“They’re across state lines, they’re in different countries,” Thrasher said, making prosecution more difficult.

“We struggle to investigate them,” Jones said. “Getting your money back is almost impossible.”

Jones said that the most effective counter to protecting people from scammers is prevention. He suggested individuals interested in learning more about scams, as local police work, should sign up for the Citizens Police Academy, a 10-week course on Monday evenings where OPD staff present locals with a topic each week. The course aims to educate residents on local police department work.

While there is no course this spring, the OPD is attempting to run one during the fall.

If anyone has concerns about a call or email that could be a scam, or would like to report one, call the OPD at 513-524-5240.