29/09/2025
We're sharing this story on Facebook ahead of Friday's issue due to its timeliness.
Authorities in Traill County on Monday issued a warning to residents about scammers impersonating law enforcement officers following a series of recent scam attempts in the area.
Traill County sheriff's deputy Kelli Tvedt said the sheriff's department received three reports of area residents either falling victim to scams or narrowly avoiding them in the past two weeks.
One of the reports involved an individual pretending to be a law enforcement officer who contacted a local resident claiming that child po*******hy had been found on her computer, Tvedt said.
The callers attempted to convince their targets to withdraw $10,000 from their banking institutions, exchange the money into Bitcoin and pass along the digital currency, Tvedt said.
“Once money gets transferred into Bitcoin and sent, it's extremely difficult for victims to be able to recoup any of that money,” Tvedt said.
Traill County Sheriff Steve Hunt said one Traill County resident recently converted a significant amount of money into gold after falling victim to a scam artist.
“That (case) started out as a PayPal scam that eventually led the woman to transfer her money into gold, which is the first one like that in this area that we have seen,” Hunt said.
Authorities in Griggs County have been battling recent scam attempts while law enforcement officers in neighboring Grand Forks and Cass counties see them on an ongoing basis, Hunt said.
Although the scammers don't appear to be targeting a specific city or age demographic, Hunt said authorities are worried about Traill County's elderly population due to the increase in scam calls.
“Sometimes seniors can get flustered more easily and they don't always understand the technology that's being used in some of these scam attempts,” he said.
Employees at banking institutions in Traill County have assisted authorities in preventing more than one scam attempt the past month, Hunt said.
“We're fortunate here because a lot of our bankers know their customers and have been able to head off some of this” illegal activity, Hunt said. “But bankers can only freeze a person's account for so long and they have to be paying attention if they're going to try and (help).”
Although one of the recent scams involved gold, Kvedt said authorities commonly see scammers requesting Apple gift cards, prepaid Visa cards and wire transfers when seeking money from victims.
“If you are being pressured into paying by any of these methods, it is most likely a scam,” Tvedt said.
“No legitimate law enforcement agency will ever ask you to pay bail, fines or restitution using any of these methods,” she said.
Local residents who receive suspicious phone calls or texts from someone claiming to be from the Traill County Sheriff's Department should reach out to the sheriff's office, Hunt said.
“If people think they're being scammed and threatened, they should call us and ask. We will tell them what's going on and try to help them,” he said.
Kvedt said local authorities may start visiting with area churches or community groups to discuss how their members can avoid falling victim to scam attempts locally.
Anyone with questions or concerns about scamming activity in the area can contact the Traill County Sheriff's Department at 701-636-4510.
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