Scams are plentiful and usually target seniors, Lieutenant Charles Burnette of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department said today.

Burnette was a guest at Braxton Brown’s Be a Safe Senior program at the Kirkwood Adams Community Center.

“Telephone scams are most common,” he said, referring to a 2010 scam in which scammers used automated calls purporting to be from a local bank. “Roanoke Rapids Savings Bank is not going to call you on a Saturday.”

He said if you’re not a customer of the particular bank that’s purportedly calling you, it is a scam.

Even if a call is from a charity, Burnette recommends, “If you don’t know, don’t give them anything. We’d rather you not be a victim of crime.”

Sweepstakes are another big scam, the lieutenant said. “If you haven’t been to Ireland and not bought an Irish Sweepstakes you can’t win anything.”

Many of these scams claim you must pay a tax to claim your prize, which is an attempt to access your banking account routing numbers. While you may receive a prize check, it usually bounces and the scammers have your bank numbers, Burnette said. Most of these originate from foreign countries. “They’re usually in a country which will not extradite a criminal.”

Another popular scam is the grandchild in trouble scam, Burnette said. It is a scam that involves fast-talking and doesn’t give the victim much time to think it might not be the grandchild on the phone. “If you were not having your heartstrings pulled you would probably recognize it’s not their voice. If people talk too fast for you, chances are it’s a scam.”

Beware of construction scams, Burnette said. “Be leery of people who want to help you all of a sudden. Deal with reputable people you know.”

There are also people claiming they have run out of gas, the gas can in the middle of the night scam, Burnette calls it. Don’t answer the door. “When things like this happen, don’t be embarrassed. Know when they leave your house they’re going to the next house in your neighborhood. The best thing you can do is call the police and let us check them out.”