A Windom native contacted the Citizen about a scam that is essentially a COVID con.
“I received an email from a friend saying it was his niece’s birthday and he was isolated because of COVID,” the former Windom resident said. “He asked me if I would go to an Apple store and get a gift card and e-mail it to him. “
The former Windom resident said he called his friend, just to check on it and was informed that he’s fine and this was a scam.
“I thought it was (a scam) but checked anyway,” the Windom native said.
Unfortunately, this scam exists because too many people assume the email is legitimate and that the need is real. In this era of almost daily scam attempts, it’s always good to doublecheck before following through on these requests.
Share your scam story
Local law enforcement is concerned about the impact of scams on area residents, particularly the elderly.
Consequently, this newspaper works with local police and sheriff’s departments to keep residents updated on common schemes. Scam Alerts will appear in future editions as often as possible in the coming weeks. Readers can also find online scam updates at windomnews.com.
If you have been the target of a scam, your first contact should be local authorities. Also, feel free to contact us with details (we can keep your name confidential).
Send your story to: rahnl@windomnews.com, or call 507-831-3455. By sharing, you could prevent someone from being scammed.
Watch www.windomnews.com for regular weekday updates at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., plus BREAKING stories at other times. Follow CoCoCitizen @CitPub on Twitter.
