Aitkin County TRIAD: A Very Clever Credit Card Scam

"Beware of People Bearing Gifts"
​A courier company calls to say they have a package that requires a signature and wants to be sure you are home. A uniformed delivery man arrives with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. He doesn’t know who the sender is and explains that, because the gift contains alcohol, there is a $3.50 delivery and verification charge to prove that the package was delivered to an adult of legal
drinking age and not just left on the doorstep. You offer to pay cash but are told the delivery company requires payment by credit card for their records. He then pulls out a small mobile card machine with a screen and keypad. You swipe your card, enter your PIN and a receipt is printed for you. This machine now has all the information necessary to create a “dummy” card with all your details, including the PIN, and can be used for credit card transactions and ATM withdrawals. WARNING: Be wary of accepting any “surprise gift or package” which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it requires any kind of payment. Also, never accept anything if the sender cannot be identified.

​A Note from the Sheriff’s Office:

Another popular scam involves receiving a call on your cellphone with your own phone number showing up on caller ID. A recording identifies your cell phone company and requests the last four digits of your social security number. Once again, your provider would not request this type of information on a cold call so we are reminding you to never give out any personal information. Aitkin County TRIAD will keep you informed so please help keep us informed. We welcome any information on scams or frauds you hear about. You are our eyes and ears!