MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Internet mediums and the advancements made in technology throughout the last decade have provided a lot of efficiency in our daily lives. On the other hand, scam calls, fraudulent surveys, and even disguised people are dangers that seem to have grown in popularity as well.
Northern Michigan University’s campus police recently reported that students have been receiving calls from people claiming to be NMU PD officers and asking for money. NMU wants to reassure its wildcat community in Marquette and abroad, that “it just doesn’t happen that way, our campus police do not do business in the way that it was happening,” assured Northern Michigan University Director of Marketing Derek Hall.
“People were receiving calls that a relative of there’s was in jail and that they needed to send money to post bond,” explained Hall. According to the Federal Trade Commission, close to $9 billion was reported as the total fraud losses in 2022, a large jump from the previous $6.1 billion last year. Local Marquette Police Detective commented that the most common situation with scamming is through the phone and the best way to deviate from any worry is to be cautious and to take a minute to
“I think we all need to be suspicious and that’s really kind of a sad thing in today’s world…but if you have unexpected contact from businesses that you do business with, question that, follow up, hang up and call them back,” stressed Hall.
As information becomes more and more accessible over the internet, it can lead to more opportunities for online threats. Local police noted that reporting scams can be a big help in not only the current situations but also prevent other community members from being impacted as well.
“Ask questions with the person it’s one or the other you either understand that it’s a scam and hang up the phone call and end all communication with them or if you are concerned in a sense and you want to verify the information, you know to start asking questions to them, don’t just rely on the information that they’re providing,” commented Marquette City Detective Chris Aldrich.
Click here, to report any fraudulent activity and for more information on becoming aware of scams.
