NEW ULM — Fraud losses in the United States were $10 billion last year, according to information presented at a fraud prevention seminar at the Farm-City Hub Club seminar at the New Ulm Civic Center Friday.

Nicollet County Attorney Michelle M. Zehnder Fischer said her grandmother was targeted by scammers.

“They called her and said my mother was in jail. They swore and screamed at her for money to get her out of jail,” said Zehnder Fischer.

“We want this seminar to have a ripple effect by you talking to others about what you hear today,” she added.

“Anybody can fall victim to a scam. Scammers can be located nearby or even overseas. They usually call you out of the blue and work to gain your trust, prey on your emotions. They want you to act fast by paying them first,” said Nicollet County Victim/Witness Coordinator Bonnie Petersen.

She said tech support scammers offer to clean your computer for a fee.

“If you pay them with a credit card, contact the credit card company. You may be able to reverse charges. You can’t do that with gift cards,” said Petersen said.

Brown County Investigator Andrew Konechne said gift cards are use to turn into cash.

That’s not all.

“Scammers may install a program to track your computer activity that may include your bank accounts,” he added.

Investigators advised people who get a computer pop-up warning to turn off their computer and the warning should be gone when you log back in.

Individuals who receive emails that say they have won prizes should not click on links.

“If an email message sounds too good, it probably is,” said Zehnder Fischer.

Romance scams include getting people to fall in love with someone and sending them money for a variety of reasons.

Individuals who get phone calls that include the question “can you hear me” should hang up the phone. Scammers are trying to get a vlctim to say “yes” and using your voice for whatever they want to do.

Other advice included ignoring fake email invoices and requests to set up online bank accounts.

Four signs of a scam include scammers pretending to be from an organization you know, offering a problem or a prize, pressuring you to act immediately and telling you to pay in a specific way, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Ways to avoid a scam include blocking unwanted calls and text messages, not giving personal or financial information in response to a request you didn’t expect, resisting pressure to act immediately, never paying someone who insists you pay with a gift card or by using a money transfer service. Never deposit a check and send money back to someone.

Before you do anything else, tell someone, a friend, family member, neighbor, about what happened. Talking about it could help you realize it’s a scam.

If you are scammed or think you saw a scam. report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov

If someone is using your personal or financial information to make purchases, get benefits, file taxes or commit fraud, that’s identify theft.

Visit IdentifyTheft.gov to report identity theft and get a personal recovery plan.

First things to do are calling companies where you know fraud occurred, placing a fraud alert and getting credit reports from Experian.com/help, TransUnion.com/credit-help or Equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services.