It’s sad to think that there are people who spend their days thinking up ways to steal our money.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has received recent reports of scammers posing as job recruiters, contractors or law enforcement to entice locals with opportunities that are too good to be true, or pressure them to pay money out of urgency or fear.

How can you prevent yourself from falling prey to these scams? Educate yourself about common scams and learn to spot the red flags. Here’s how these scams might be presented and what to look for:

Job scams: the undercover bank customer

Posing as a job recruiter, a scammer promises victims a generous payout if they’re willing to be an “undercover” bank customer and write a detailed review of his or her experience. The scammer sends the victim $3,000 worth of checks to cash at their bank. The victim then deposits the cash into another account at a different bank and gets to keep $400 as payment.

It sounds like easy money—until the checks bounce. Sure, the victim gets to keep the $400, but it doesn’t make up for the $3,000 deducted from their bank account.

Red flags: Cashing checks for other people is risky. You’re responsible for the funds regardless of the check not being yours.

How to protect yourself: Don’t cash a check for anyone unless you know and trust them.

Phone scams

The caller pretends to be from a government or local law enforcement agency. The caller says you’re in big trouble because you’ve missed jury duty, not paid a ticket or have a warrant out for your arrest, and you must pay a fine but only with a prepaid credit card. It sounds convincing because they answer your questions smoothly and in detail but this is a scam.

Red flags: The court, IRS and police will never call you and will never ask you for money. Most places will only accept checks as payment, so using a prepaid credit card is also a red flag.

How to protect yourself: Hang up. If you still have concerns, verify the information yourself. If they say you’ve missed jury duty, call the court using a phone number you find yourself. Don’t let the caller rush you or threaten you if you don’t act now—that’s another red flag.

Contractor scams

Scammers pose as contractors that offer to fix your roof or seal your driveway at a discounted rate because they have leftover material from another job. Once you agree, the work is bad and you are stuck paying the scammer, who demands cash right away.

Red flags: You should never feel pressured to get work done.

How to protect yourself: Always get an estimate up front and check the contractor’s business license before agreeing to anything. Scammers win by putting pressure on the victim, forcing you to make a decision quickly. Take control. You never have to do anything you don’t want to do.

Scammers only succeed in swindling us if we let them. When in doubt, hang up, walk away or call the police.

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To report a scam, call local law enforcement at the non-emergency number: 242-6707.  Then spread the word! Tell as many people as possible so they don’t fall victim.