Stanton County offers warning as citizens fall victim to scammers

STANTON, Neb. -- Residents in northeast Nebraska have lost thousands of dollars in recent scams.

The Stanton County Sheriff's Office says over the past 45 days, several Stanton County residents have lost large sums of money after being scammed into providing financial information or purchasing gift cards and providing card information to scammers.

The sheriff's office says Christmas scammers are using land lines, cell phones, text messaging and social media in efforts to convince citizens they have won prize money or owe money that needs paid off to avoid criminal proceedings.

Sheriff Mike Unger said he wants to remind everyone that at no time will legitimate government agencies or businesses contact people or threaten arrest by phone or email. He says they will also not call or email for civil violations or request payments over the phone.

Scammers often seek out the elderly, Unger said. He said they will often use intimidation and threats to convince people to act, while also telling them not to hang up the phone or tell anyone.

Authorities say you should never provide banking information nor purchase gift cards, as is often directed by scammers. Unger also says that information should never be provided to anyone over the phone or by text or email.