Category Archives: Scams

City Alerts Pet Owners about Scammers

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The Animal Welfare Department (AWD) is warning Albuquerque residents and other animal shelters about telephone scams. Scammers are preying on the vulnerability and hope of pet owners, by exploiting their emotional turmoil for financial gain. The scams are take two different tactics: 

  • Thieves target people who lost pets and ask the owner for payment over the phone to get their lost pet back
  • Owners are told by the caller that their pet needs emergency surgery and demand immediate payment in order to do the surgery. 

If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from AWD and asking for money in relation to your missing pet, exercise extreme caution, even if the call appears to come from a legitimate phone number. Note that AWD does call pet owners to inform them that their pet is at the shelter and will instruct the owner to go to the shelter to reclaim their pet. If the pet is already spayed or neutered, he or she will be returned to the owner free of charge. If the pet is not spayed or neutered, the owner will be told the amount of the reclaim fee and to go to the shelter to pay the fee. However, AWD does not ask for payment ahead of time to reclaim your pet, and would not ask for gift cards, Cash-App or electronic payment. Please report the scams to the Attorney General’s Office Toll Free 1-844-255-9210 and Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission online at: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.

County Treasurer Warns of Property Tax Scam

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The Bernalillo County Treasurer warns residents of an ongoing scam in which tax notices sent to residents threaten to have property seized. The letters claim to be from the “Tax Processing Unit” with “Bernalillo County County” and state that the federal tax authorities are seeking funds, and without prompt payment, taxpayers will have their properties immediately seized. The scam notification claims the recipients owe nearly $3,500 in unpaid taxes. No deadline date, contact information, or address to send payments are provided. The bogus document reads it is from “Bernalillo County County” which is clearly a mistake. Taxpayers should call the Bernalillo County Treasurer’s Office at 505-468-7031 or visit: www.bernco.gov/Treasurer with any questions about their tax bill.

Phishing Scam Attempts On The Rise As Tax Season Approaches

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Tax season is approaching and employers are issuing W-2s in anticipation. With the onset of Tax Day, phishing scam attempts aimed at identity theft and tax refund theft are on the rise. There is a wide variety of tax-related scam and phishing attempts out there, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers many resources to combat them. To learn about the many scams going around and how you can protect your information and money, visit: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts

Contact Tracer Scams on the Upswing in Albuquerque

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The following is a reprint from the Office of Neighborhood Coordination September 8th Weekly eNews.

Contact Tracer Scams on the Upswing in Albuquerque – Be Alert!
Contact tracer scam attempts related to COVID-19 are on the uprise in Albuquerque and residents are asked to be aware. If you are called by someone claiming to be a contact tracer asking for certain personal information, be aware that a legitimate contact tracer WILL NOT ask for the following information:

  • A credit card number
  • A Social Security number
  • Any type of payment
  • Immigrant status

You may be asked for your date of birth to confirm your identity, however. If you’ve been contacted by a scammer, report it online to the Albuquerque Police Department immediately. You can file a report online at: https://www.cabq.gov/police/file-a-police-report-online