A scam is making its way around Boundary County, though it appears no one has lost money. 

Several text messages were sent to individuals with a Boundary County area code claiming to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles and requesting payment for unpaid traffic tickets. The messages warned that if payment was not made immediately, the recipient’s driver’s license would be suspended. 

“Through our school resource officer, he said probably 30 to 40 kids came to him on March 11 with the same text message,” Bonners Ferry Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Garrett said. 

Garrett said multiple people in Boundary County have previously fallen victim to other scams. 

“In the recent past, we have had quite a few community members fall victim to scams, not exactly like this one but along the same lines,” Garrett said. “What we’re trying to do is get information out to the public as soon as we can, so people feel more assured about what’s real and what’s not.”  

“Two or three weeks ago, we had somebody lose $60,000 and last year another person lost $80,000, so it’s a big deal,” Garrett said. “They definitely target the elderly and the young.” 

According to the Federal Trade Commission, adults 60 and older in the U.S. reported total losses of $600 million in 2020. In 2024, that number rose to $2.4 billion. Americans reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, which was a 25% increase over the previous year. 

Garrett said tracking the stolen money can be difficult once it leaves a victim’s account. 

“The other thing we’re finding is that some of these scams are so elaborate that it’s very difficult to follow the money once it leaves your hands,” Garrett said. 

“We don’t have the resources to follow them all the way back to the Ivory Coast in Africa,” he said, using one example of how difficult international fraud investigations can be. 

“What these scammers are doing is having people send money to an account,” Garrett said. “That account immediately closes; the money goes to the next account and that account immediately closes.” 

The Bonners Ferry Police Department has taken multiple steps to help prevent residents from falling victim to scams.  

According to the FTC, the median reported loss for people over 80 was $1,600. 

“It’s more or less trying to let the public know that when we start hearing about these scams, we’re trying to get in front of it,” Garrett said. “Last week I met with residents at the Restorium and went over some of the things dealing with scams.” 

“A sense of urgency is a big red flag,” Garrett said. “If somebody is telling you that if you don’t do something right now you’re going to end up in trouble, that’s just not the way it works, especially over the phone or through email.” 

If someone realizes they have been scammed, Garrett said they should report it immediately. 

“Call dispatch,” Garrett said. “Call the non-emergency dispatch line and we will take a report. Then we’ll tell you to log into IC3.gov and file a report through them. They have more far-reaching ability than we do.”