Redding residents have been taken for at least $90,000 in recent weeks by scam artists, and that’s only the cases that have been reported to Redding Police. The scam artists contact their victims either by phone or Internet. People are called by someone often claiming to be law enforcement or an IRS representative, or even a family member in distress. The caller ID can’t be trusted because the callers can make it say whatever they want. The nature of the scam varies, but in nearly every case, the caller demands that a payment be made immediately over the phone, either by credit card or by pre-paid cards purchased at stores. That’s something that is never done by any public agency ever. In some variations, small amounts of money are deposited in the victim’s account to gain trust before large amounts of money are stolen. There’s always a sense of urgency with no chance to think it through. If someone should receive such a call they should ask the caller for their name, badge number, agency, call back number and case number, and then they should hang up. No personal information should ever be given over the phone. Elderly people are often targeted in these scams and everyone should be aware if they see someone buying multiple prepaid cards, so they can be warned it’s probably a rip-off.