“I don’t know if it was an IRS scam or a Social Security scam, but he said he owed a bunch of money and the police were going to issue a warrant for his arrest,” Moore recalled. “He was really shaken up about it.”

But in reality, the young man did not owe that person money and he was not wanted by Fort Dodge police, according to Moore, who listened to the young man’s concerns.

It was all a fraud. And Moore said these types of efforts to take advantage of people are all too common anymore.

“We aren’t always sure how it starts,” Moore said.

But he said the goal of the scams, whether they originate online or on the phone, usually involves getting someone to divulge personal information.

“The gist of it is they tell you your Social Security number has been compromised and you need to provide them with personal information to resolve it,” Moore said.

Other times scammers will threaten that the police are planning to make an arrest and ask for personal information.

Assistant Police Chief Cory Husske said that’s not something the Police Department would do.

“A lot of times they will make up the name of a police officer at the Fort Dodge Police Department, someone who doesn’t even work here, who is going to arrest them,” Husske, who has served the Police Department for 15 years, said. “We will never contact you and ask for your personal information over the phone.”

In terms of scams that originate through a phone call, Moore and Husske both said the best thing to do is just hang up or don’t even answer the phone if it’s a number you don’t recognize.

“If anyone is asking you for personal information, just hang up and ask someone you trust,” Moore said.

Another annoyance pertaining to scams that originate on the phone is numbers sometimes appear to be local and are really not, Husske said.

“The numbers can appear to come locally, but could be anywhere in the world,” Husske said.

Moore, who is in his eighth year working for the Police Department, said the IRS scam comes about every so often.

“The IRS scam, they call and say you owe all these back taxes, and in order to take care of it you have to buy them a Target gift card or another gift card,” Moore said. “Or just give your bank account info over the phone.”

Oftentimes when there is a scam, Moore is one of the first ones to hear about it.

That’s because he receives reports from citizens who enter the Webster County Law Enforcement Center or call the Police Department by phone.

When it comes to scams, Moore said there isn’t a whole lot the Police Department can do other than to educate the public.

“If they are here regarding a potential scam, unfortunately there’s not a whole lot we can really do,” Moore said. “It’s just a matter of people sharing this information with other people who don’t have access to social media or aren’t computer saavy.”

Online scams can be frustrating, Moore said. That’s because links can sometimes be sent directly to your inbox.

The best thing to do is to ignore the link if you aren’t sure what it is, Moore said.

Just the other day Husske received a spam message in his inbox.

“I had a text saying ‘congrats, you just won $5,000. Click here to accept this award'” Husske said. “I just deleted it.”

Moore said he doesn’t like to see people get taken advantage of.

“It’s heartbreaking when you have an elderly person or anyone who gets taken for money,” he said.

When someone tells Moore about a scam, he documents the information.

If someone gave out personal information to an unreliable source, Moore will pass the information on to an officer to begin an investigation.

Moore will sometimes post information about scams or other safety tips and information on social media or the city’s website.

“If we get a bunch of calls we will post something on social media,” Moore said. “We updated our section the city’s website recently. I put out some of our flyers and handouts on a variety of topics.”

The Police Department has a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube account.

The Police Department’s section of the city website can be found by visiting fortdodgeiowa.org.