HARVEY, N.D. – A 90-year-old woman who was scammed out of her life savings by a Jamaican lottery scam wants all of her $400,000 back. Edna Schmeets, of Harvey, was the victim whose case launched what became the first large-scale Jamaican lottery scam case prosecuted in the U.S. All 31 defendants have been prosecuted, including 14 Jamaican nationals who were…
MOORHEAD, Minn.–Moorhead Public Service is warning customers of a payment scam in which individuals call attempting to collect payment from MSP customers. Numerous customers have contacted MPS claiming they received these suspicious phone calls. MPS uses automated messages for its collection process and past due balances, but it does not demand direct payment over the phone. MPS is urging anyone…
BISMARCK, N.D.–Police say a Bismarck woman has lost $98,000 in a scam by a caller who claimed his company had deposited too much money into her account. Officer Lynn Wanner says the 78-year-old woman overnighted cash to the fake company several times. Wanner says the caller told the woman there was a mistake with deposits made into her account and…
MOORHEAD, Minn. — A new scam alert from Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting. He says the scam involves a person claiming to be a Special Agent Josh Penn. The scammer claims he is working on behalf of the IRS and that your bank account was used to set up illegal bank accounts for drug cartels in Texas. The caller is…
FARGO, N.D. — A woman receives a call from the Fargo Police Department’s phone number asking her to pay for fines with gift cards. But police say it’s a scam. Scammers using spoof devices to call victims from a local phone number demanding payment is becoming more common. According to the FTC, gift cards and reload cards are now the…
FARGO, ND — It’s sentencing day for a Rhode Island woman convicted in North Dakota as part of a major lottery fraud. Judge Daniel Hovland sentenced Melinda Bulgin of Providence to four years in prison and restitution of around $330,000. At least 90 Americans lost over $5.7 million in the scheme which funneled money between the U.S. and Jamaica. The…
MOORHEAD, Minn.– The Better Business Bureau hosting a seminar called “Scam Jam” to talk about popular scams that older people can fall into. Members from the bureau and AARP spoke about new age fraud and how scammers can access basic information about you from the internet. They chose someone who registered online. They were able to find all nine of…
FARGO, N.D.– Robo–calls are nothing new in our area, but scams come in all shapes and sizes. According to the AARP Fraud Watch Network, a con artist steals someone’s identity every 2 seconds in the U.S. The group says in 2018, Americans lost $16 billion to fraud, identity theft, and scams. There are many types of scams people can fall…
FARGO, N.D. — An Instagram account impersonating City Commissioner John Strand has been trying to scam people. The account messages users about a so–called U.N. Social Government Funds Grant for anyone needing financial assistance. It claims the grant doesn’t have to be paid back. Commissioner Strand says dozens of people have told him about the account, and he contacted Instagram to…
FARGO, N.D. — If you are getting texts and phone calls that look like they’re from Wells Fargo, there’s a chance it could be part of a scam. This is a text message some have been receiving but it is not actually the bank. If you provided any information to the person on the other end, call the bank immediately or…
