Sayre, OK – Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning is warning residents to be on alert as scam attempts continue to increase across the area, with many recent schemes specifically targeting senior citizens.

“We've had the scams have just been rampant here lately,” Manning said. “We've had several that have involved pretending that they're the sheriff's office.”

Manning said scammers are also once again posing as phone companies and sending text messages that appear legitimate. Several of the scams reported during the past week have been aimed at seniors.

“My own mother-in-law got one of those, and so we went through the process to make sure that her stuff was secure, and it was,” Manning said.

According to Manning, scammers often use urgent messages designed to make victims believe they owe money, face additional charges or could get into trouble if they do not respond immediately.

“The simple fact is, there's really nothing like that, that anybody's going to be contacting you through your phone that you need to respond to in a way that you're going to be giving them information,” Manning said.

He said his mother-in-law handled the situation correctly by refusing to provide personal information and reporting the message immediately.

“She did the exact right thing and didn't give them information that she wasn't supposed to and reported it immediately,” Manning said. “She handled it very well and did a good job.”

Manning encouraged residents to be skeptical of unexpected messages requesting money or personal information, particularly those that attempt to create a sense of urgency.

“When they send messages that make it sound like you either owe them money or you're going to be owing them money if you don't do this right away, those are all scams,” Manning said. “Don't give them any information.”

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