JENISON, Mich. — Michigan State Police are warning residents about an increase in phone and computer scams, saying criminals are using fear and urgency to trick people into giving away personal information and money.
Lt. Pat Agema with the Michigan State Police said the number of people falling victim to scams has risen significantly in recent years.
"The uptake in people becoming scammed has just doubled and tripled over the past several years," Agema said.
According to Michigan State Police, scammers are impersonating trusted organizations through fake package delivery notifications, bank alerts, tech support messages and even callers claiming to be law enforcement. Officials say the goal is to pressure victims into acting before verifying whether the request is legitimate.
At Adaptive PC Solutions in Jenison, owner Rob Lnenicka said he sees customers dealing with the aftermath of these scams several times each week.
"We get multiple a week, unfortunately," Lnenicka said. "You get phone calls, emails, pop-ups on your computer all over the place. It's real easy to fall into the trap these days."
To help reduce the risk, Lnenickaa recommends using a trusted ad blocker, since many scam pop-ups appear through online advertisements, even on well-known websites.
Michigan State Police also recommend using strong, unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication and avoiding unsolicited links in emails or text messages.
Officials say anyone who receives a suspicious phone call should hang up and contact the organization directly using a verified phone number rather than the number provided by the caller.
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