Kentucky State Police gives tips to avoid scams

MAYFIELD Ky. (KBSI) – The Kentucky State Police says they regularly receive phone calls regarding possible scams.

A recent scam involves missing pets.

Scammers will target vulnerable people desperate for the return of their beloved pet. These pet owners will post their pet missing on social media and will receive messages from scammers.

These scammers will indicate that they have information on the pets whereabouts but will only reveal the information upon payment.

The Kentucky State Police (KSP) encourages the public to never send money under these circumstances. The KSP also encourages the public not to send money electronically to anyone that they do not know. The public should also not disclose any personal information over the phone or electronically to anyone who they do not know.

If you receive a phone call requesting personal information from a business, bank, doctor’s office, etc., you can hang up and search for the company’s real phone number to call them back and ensure they are who they say they are before disclosing any information.

There are applications that scammers can use to mask their phone number so that it shows up as a legitimate number even though they are not associated with the business.

You cannot always trust that the number showing on the Caller ID is actually where they are calling from.

Remain vigilant in protecting your personal information.