There are a lot of similarities among the different scams that victimize residents of North Idaho, and hopefully that can help people spot them.

In many scams, people are asked to send money, transfer it, open bank accounts and provide personal information.

By phone, a caller who is pushy, tries to create a sense of urgency, or resorts to scare tactics or threats should be tip-offs, according to Post Falls Police Det. Rod Gunderson, who sat down with The Press this week to talk about scams.

"It's amazing that people from outside the U.S. can completely manipulate groups of people here," he said. "These are multifaceted scams that they're perpetrating on people all over the country."

Being that many are from foreign countries, people here should watch out for emails, text messages and letters that contain odd word choices and misspellings.

In a way, the scams these criminals perpetrate work time and again because they play on people's insecurities, emotions, needs and aspirations.

Greater access to information worldwide on the Internet has given more criminals more information on more people - faster and easier. Technology also plays a part.

"I've got piles and piles of counterfeit checks," said Gunderson.

The scam artists can make computer-generated checks on their computers at home that will fool a lot of people, he said.

The Internet brings scam artists and potential victims closer together, and people need to be aware of that every time they're doing business online, sharing information, or just being social.

Help wanted

Somebody might want a job and go to a website like Monster or Craigslist to find it, but the job they pursue might lead to something else entirely.

A scam artist might pretend to be an employer and advertise a fake job such as an administrative assistant or customer service representative, paying $30 per hour.

When someone applies, "Now they've given away their own personal information on a job application," Gunderson said.

He said that when the job sounds too good to be true, watch out.

Along with taking someone's personal information, the scam artist will likely have the new "employee" do some illegal work for them.

Often in the past, scam artists have purchased items with stolen credit cards and had the items routed to the new employee's house, where that person is sent a shipping label and told to box up the merchandise for overseas shipment.

Police are called by law enforcement agents from outside the area and told items purchased with stolen credit cards are being shipped to a house in North Idaho.

When the police arrive, the person finds out they're not the employee they thought they were.

"When they try and track down who they're working for, it ultimately leads outside the country," Gunderson said.

Wire money

Scam artist often use people to wire money.

They "hire" someone as a so-called secret shopper, who is told to evaluate the customer service of a money-transfer business like Western Union.

The scam artist will mail the victim a counterfeit check, for say $2,000, then have the person wire most of it, perhaps $1,550, out of the country. The person thinks they are paid the remainder.

They also are asked to fill out a bogus questionnaire about the service they received wiring the money.

"They've just conned a person into thinking they have a job as a secret shopper, cashing a counterfeit check, and shipping them $1,550," Gunderson said. "And they tell them, keep this on the down-low, this is secret stuff, don't tip them off that you're evaluating them. If they ask any questions, just ensure them that this is legitimate and that you know who you're sending this to."

He added, "Of course, then, a few days later, the bank comes to them and says that check cashed was counterfeit," and the victim now owes $2,000.

Dating websites

On dating websites, scam artists start meeting and flirting with a person, and then maintain a relationship online.

Once they get them a little bit on the hook, then they come up with a sob story and start asking for favors.

"The manipulations of these guys is just amazing," Gunderson said.

Something as simple as asking that new friend to open a bank account can allow the scam artists to move money in there that is stolen, and then move it out of the country.

'Grandparents scam'

Someone on the phone says they are a grandchild, and they might kind of sound like one, too.

"And they call up and say, 'Grandma, I need help!' And they are like, 'Oh, is that you, Johnny?'" Gunderson said. "And they respond, 'Oh, yes, I'm up in Canada and I've been arrested and I need you to send me some money. I need to bail out.'"

They plead with the victim to wire money right away.

The grandparent might comment that the grandchild sounds different, but the scam artist will say they have a cold, or provide some other explanation for why their voice isn't quite right.

Often the caller says they are stuck in jail in Mexico, too, or stuck in customs somewhere.

"Amazingly enough, we've had a few people fall for that," he said. "And they really think it's their grandkid that's calling."

Phishing scams

People get emails or text messages from a source that presents itself as a well-known bank like Wells Fargo or online company like eBay, telling the recipient they need to update or confirm account information.

"Well, the bank is not going to ask for that information, but the person has already sent off their personal information to somebody who is going to illegally use it," he said. "These companies don't randomly send out an email saying you need to update or provide information."

The scam artists know that only a few people receiving the messages will actually be customers of the bank or business, but odds are some of those customers will take the bait.

"And they're going, 'Well here's my account number, I don't know why they don't have that?'" he said. "And they send it along."

Lottery scams

On the first of this month, the phone rang at the home of an elderly man on the 800 block of West Orchard Avenue in Hayden. He was informed he'd won $385,000, a Kootenai County Sheriff's Department report said.

During the conversation, he was told he would need to transfer $3,850 to a Chase bank account for taxes, and once that was done, the winnings would be all his.

He was given the account number and went to a Chase bank branch inside Fred Meyer, where he transferred $3,850 from one of his bank accounts.

Unfortunately, he never got the promised winnings.

Senior targets

According to the FBI, senior citizens are attractive targets of scam artists because they have money and excellent credit.

People raised in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s were generally raised to be polite and trusting, and scam artists exploit these traits, the FBI says. Scam artists know it's difficult for these people to just hang up the phone.

"A lot of them are more trusting," said Gunderson. "They come from an era when trust and honesty were more commonplace."

Older Americans also are less likely to report fraud, either because they don't know how, or don't want relatives to think they can't handle their own financial affairs, the FBI says on its website.

Also, it often takes them longer to figure out they've been taken.

Tangled web

Scam artists often use multiple victims, from different parts of the U.S., to get the money into their own hands without getting caught, Gunderson said.

A person in Post Falls found by scam artists on a dating website could be used in a scam along with someone in Atlanta who was found on an online jobs website. Those two, and perhaps others, could be strung together as part of an elaborate scam.

"I think American people are kind of gullible in nature," Gunderson said. "We're trusting. I don't think these kinds of scams would work in other countries as much as it works here."

People in the U.S. try to be honest, trusting, and take people at their word, he said. They believe most people have good intentions.

However, people in the U.S. are primarily targeted for one reason.

"This is where the money is," Gunderson said.