MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake police have received an increased amount of fraud in recent months and Chief Dave Ruffin is urging residents to protect personal information.

Since Jan. 1, police have responded to more than 60 calls identified as fraud but those numbers are likely much higher because of how calls are categorized. Many calls for attempted fraud are identified as suspicious. In 2013, at least 340 cases labeled as fraud were reported in Moses Lake, which also includes check fraud and identity theft.

"People have to be wary," Ruffin said. "They really have to be careful not to be victimized. It (fraud) seems to be increasing and it's unfortunate but the expanse of fraud is really left up to criminal's ingenuity. It's very easy nowadays to get access to information. People can find out things about people relatively easy and by doing that, they're able to, at least on the surface, pose that it's legitimate."

Ruffin said the nature of the fraud calls vary, from calls from people claiming to be distant relatives in jail and needing money to be bailed out, to callers posing as bill collectors or callers claiming the person won the lottery and needed to pay an administrative fee to claim the prize.

"Most people don't fall for it, but some will," Ruffin said. "Criminals are going to keep developing ways to do this. People need to be careful. We encourage people to call us if they have something suspicious. Anything from out of the country is highly suspicious."

Ruffin recommends not giving out personal information on the phone and tracking activating on bank and credit card accounts.

More information on common fraud schemes and ways to protect personal information can be found on the FBI's website at www.fbi.gov.