Longboat PD warns of common scams for gift cards, electronic payments

Longboat Key Interim Chief of Police Frank Rubino hopes to increase public awareness of rising scams targeting some of the island’s population. 

According to Rubino, these scams ask residents to share sensitive information or send electronic payments by phone, text or other messages. 

These scams often have messages that claim to be urgent, which Rubino said is the first red flag. 

“If it seems urgent and you're not sure who it is, hang up and verify who it is,” Rubino said. 

Rubino said one scam that’s been increasingly popular asks people to purchase gift cards at stores like Publix or CVS and input the numbers from the gift card online to steal the funds. 

Electronic payment solicitation has also been on the rise, Rubino said, with scammers requesting people to send money through platforms like Venmo, Cash App and Zelle. 

Sometimes, the scammers pose as representatives from state, federal or local agencies. For example, the middle of tax season is a common ruse for scammers to pose as the IRS and send fake messages. 

“What we’re asking is to be alert about people claiming to represent themselves from any agency or utility company,” Rubino said.

New technology also allows scammers to transfer sensitive information between phones by simply being near another phone.

That’s why it’s important also to be suspicious of strangers claiming their cell phone is dead and asking to use your phone. Rubino suggests asking the stranger for the number to call and dialing yourself instead of handing your phone over to a stranger, from which they could then extract data. 

Overall, Rubino said the department asks for residents to be aware of the potential scams, not to respond to unknown messages and, when in doubt, verify the request. 

“If we can get everybody to be a little more conscious and a little more aware … it’s important not to give anything out without checking,” Rubino said. “Nothing is ever that urgent. Every one of these scams, they’ll tell you it's urgent. As soon as you hear that and you suspect it's some type of scam, hang up and verify.”

Additionally, Rubino is sending some officers to training about cryptocurrency security and scams in the coming weeks to stay up to date with modern currency methods. 

Rubino also plans to have public sessions at St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church and some homeowners associations to boost public outreach and awareness about the scams.