Assorted telephone scams are on the rise in Cortez as local authorities field daily calls from concerned residents.

“Most of these scams want the individual being scammed to purchase Green Dot money cards,” said Cortez Police Lt. Andy Brock.

After instructing victims to secure a pre-paid debit card, Brock warned that scammers then demand payments for any number of reasons, including an outstanding arrest warrant, computer virus repair, inaccurate W-2 filing, lottery winning, secret shopper purchase or overdue utility bill.

“Never give out any personal information – address, date of birth, social security number, banking information, family information – to anyone over the phone, ” Brock warned.

Brock advised if the telephone solicitor speaks with an accent, fails to repeat the offer or refuses to provide contact information, then simply hang up.

Financial transactions using a pre-paid debit cards are nearly impossible to track, Brock also warned.

“If there are any second thoughts, then the money is usually already gone,” Brock said. “You can’t stop the payment.”

According to Brock, the police department has received as many as 10 calls per week regarding telephone scams.

tbaker@the-journal.com