Casper Businesses Being Targeted By Phone Scammers

Thieves posing as corporate officials in a phone scam have stolen money from at least six Casper businesses in recent weeks, the Casper Police Department announced this week.

EF
Ellen Fike

May 25, 20212 min read

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Thieves posing as corporate officials in a phone scam have stolen money from at least six Casper businesses in recent weeks, the Casper Police Department announced this week.

Over the last two weeks, the department has responded to multiple reports of local businesses being victimized by scammers.

In at least six of the incidents, scammers have called a business, identified themselves as a representative from the company’s “corporate office” and directed an employee to take money from the business, purchase a gift card and send it to an address.

In nearly all the situations, around $1,500 has been sent from the targeted business to the scammer.

The scammers typically call during peak hours to catch employees who are busy and may not otherwise have time to look into the matter, the department said.

The scams are targeting both national chains and locally-owned businesses.

“If you have any doubt, verify it with your manager before taking any action,” the department wrote on a social media post Tuesday. “If you are a business owner or manager, talk to your employees as soon as possible about this scam and take steps to protect your business.”

People contacted by someone claiming to be from a company’s corporate office should ask for verifiable information, such as the caller’s place of business, a website, email address or a callback number.

After that, hang up the phone and take time to speak with someone else about it or investigate the information provided, the department said.

“You can always give us a call here at the Casper Police Department and we can help you through the situation,” the department said.

This is the second time the Casper area has been affected by phone scams in at least a month. In April, some Rocky Mountain Power customers received phone calls from scammers who claimed to be a part of the company’s disconnection department (which doesn’t exist) and began threatening them for money.

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Ellen Fike

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