As the holidays draw closer, the Wayland Police Department (WPD) has issued a warning to residents about the rise in scammers. Police Chief Edward Burman recommends immediately reaching out to the WPD as soon as a scam has been identified, especially if credit cards, social security numbers or money have been exchanged.

Scammers can contact their targets in numerous. This can include messaging through text, social media, emails or phone calls. Scammers can research background information on their potential victim to provoke emotions.

“They’ll call and say, your grandson Jack has been arrested and we need you to send us $5,000 so he can get bailed,” Burman said. “It’s all about putting the fear [in the individual].”

A common tactic that scammers use is impersonating a person or organization in order to persuade a prospective victim to act in their interest. They may act as a family member asking for help or mimic legal authorities.

“We’ve had people that have spoofed our phone number and said that they were calling from the Wayland Police demanding money,” Burman says.

According to Burman, the “Grandparent” scam is one of the most popular scams. This specific scam is directed towards the elderly and is popular around the holidays. Burman stated that the WPD has worked with banks and stores around the community to inform residents what to look out for. If senior citizens are seen buying a large quantity of gift cards or pulling out a lot of money at once, banks and stores have been told to stop them and make sure the person is not involved in a scam.

“Some of the places are really good about calling us right away so we can get over there and prevent it from happening,” Burman says.

Another popular scam is the pet scam. The posting of fake pets for sale on the internet is common around the holidays, as some people purchase pets as gifts. Sophomore Cordia Wang’s family began to purchase what they thought would be a Corgi, but found out the truth before it was too late.

“Around $3,600 later we realized it was a scam after they didn’t show up at the airport,” Wang said. “We had to freeze everything and get the money back.”

Along with using impersonation, scammers will also use repetition as a strategy to get to their target. Burman says it’s important to immediately delete the spam messages when you get them.

Burman says that any post or message you receive that you don’t recognize or is asking for money is most likely a scam.

“No police department is ever going to call you and ask you for money,” Burman says. “Nobody at any legitimate entity is not going to ask you for that.”