The Most Frustrating Time Of The Year. The Scammers Are Back! | #datingscams | #lovescams

The holidays are approaching quickly, and everyone is starting to get in a cheerful mood.

You know, that one when the family gathers for Thanksgiving dinner. The one where the kids anticipate Christmas morning and all those presents under the tree.

And that feeling when all of a sudden your phone is ringing off the hook. Only one problem with that. It’s not family members calling to set up plans.

It’s those pesky scammers trying to dupe you out of all that holiday money you’ve been saving up to spend on the kids and family to spoil them.

The Amarillo Police Department says they’ve started to get a lot more phone calls about scam texts and calls, and APD says it’s an easy thing for these people to pull off.

A lot of times, the number is “spoofed” to make you believe it’s someone locally. That is usually enough to get you to answer the phone. Once they’re on the phone with you, they have a myriad of different things they start to say to you.

You’ve won some contest and it’s going to bring you $2000, but they need your bank account info to deposit the money. They get you excited about having more funds to spend on the holidays, so you give them the info without thinking.

Then you go to the store to grab something and your card declines. Instead of GIVING you $2000, they drained your account for every penny you had in it.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

And it’s not just calls that make you think you’ve won something. There are a lot of them using big-time company names making you believe you owe them money, and if you bite, you’ll hand over all your payment info to take care of that utility bill you could’ve sworn was up to date.

There are a lot of different scams out there, and they use company names that you know and trust. Some of the most commonly used ones in Amarillo so far have been Xcel Energy, Microsoft, the IRS, and Amazon. Some are even posing as law enforcement.

So if you get a call from someone saying you’ve won money or owe money, please do your due diligence before just handing over your info. 99% of those calls are likely to be scams and will put you in a terrible position to enjoy the holidays.