| The Denver Metro area is currently experiencing a surge in scams that go beyond everyday fraud attempts. While common scams like phishing emails, fake tech support calls, and online shopping fraud remain, residents are seeing a wave of the scams outlined below that are specifically circulating within our area. These scams are often more believable and deceptive, aiming to exploit people’s trust and familiarity with local institutions and services.
Stay informed about these scams and help protect everyone by sharing information about scams with your friends, family, and neighbors. |
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EXPRESS TOLL SCAM This scam just won’t go away. Many people are reporting that they are receiving two to three of these text messages a day! Click here to see the Denver 7 news story. MISSED JURY SUMMONS/ SHERIFF’S OFFICE This scam was reported to us from a Denver City Council aide. Missed jury scams are common but, in this effort, the scammer provided names of local sheriff deputies and Denver Police officers. Admirably, while on the phone with the scammer, the aide did a quick web search of the officers names provided and realized this was a scam. “I received a call from the Sheriff’s Office that I had missed a federal grand jury summons. They were asking for money or said I could turn myself over to the court for a criminal case. The scammer provided the name of his supervisor who he was going to transfer me to, but when I looked up the name, that person was not in the system. So, I called him out on that, and he transferred me to his “supervisor”, Lieutenant Steven Claiborne. Afterward, I called the actual Steven Claiborne, now a Seargent, who said the police have been seeing this scam for years. It seems the scammers used the information on Sergeant Claiborne’s LinkedIn account. “I just wanted to bring it to your awareness. They were pretty convincing at first, of course, but I just hope that’s not happening to our other residents.” Thank you for sending that in Senior City Council Aide Ayn Slavis. TARGET: JOB SEEKERS Need a job? That text message offering a full or part-time position you didn’t apply for might seem great. Why not check it out? Because, unfortunately, it’s likely a job scam. Here’s how the scam might work. You get a text out of the blue from someone who says they’re a recruiter for a company. It might even look like the text is from a company you know. Either way, you didn’t apply for a job with that company. But the text asks you to reply with some personal or financial information or click a link. That’s probably a scam designed to steal your money or identity. As always, don’t click any links or respond to unsolicited texts. FBI WARNS OF SCAMMERS IMPERSONATING INTERNET CRIME COMPLAINT CENTER (IC3) The FBI is warning the public about an ongoing fraud scheme where criminal scammers are impersonating FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) employees to deceive and defraud individuals. Between December 2023 and February 2025, the FBI received more than 100 reports of IC3 impersonation scams. Scammers make initial contact through email, phone calls, social media, or other online forums. The agency said victims include those who have already lost money to scams and were promised to have their funds recovered, or will be given assistance in recovering the funds. Click here for the full press release from the FBI or view this report from KDVR. |