St. Johns police are investigating a fraud case where scammers took $20,000 from a local couple through a phishing scheme.
- Police were able to trace the scam to a house in Southeast Michigan and recover the victims' money.
- Federal Trade Commission data shows Michigan consumers reported fraud losses totaling $204 million in 2024, up from $60 million in 2020.
- Technology experts say verifying who you're talking to is the number one way to avoid falling victim to scams.
WATCH: St. Johns couple scammed out of $20,000, police recover funds in rare case
As part of my role as St. Johns neighborhood reporter, I have regular conversations with city officials like St. Johns Police Department Deputy Chief Andy Tobias, who tells me about one top-of-mind issue for neighbors: scams.
"Unfortunately we're receiving similar type complaints on a weekly basis," Tobias said.
The complaints involve neighbors who have fallen victim to online scams. Federal Trade Commission data shows consumers in Michigan reported fraud losses totaling $204 million in 2024, up from $60 million in 2020.
St. Johns police responded to a fraud investigation in September 2024, where a St. Johns couple was scammed out of $20,000. Police say the victims received a phishing email from someone pretending to be a computer anti-virus subscription service, and were led to believe they owed the service money.
The scam then moved from the online world to the real world when the scammers sent what they claimed was a courier service to actually pick up $20,000 in cash from the St. Johns couple at their home.
In what police describe as a rare situation, investigators were able to trace the scam back to a house in Southeast Michigan and recover the victims' money. According to police, two suspects have been identified in the ongoing investigation, but no arrests have been made.
Finding someone who has received an attempted scam message in the neighborhood wasn't difficult. The first person I asked had experience with scam attempts.
"I know I've gotten scams, but what happens is I tend to panic over them. So I talk to my husband about it first," St. Johns neighbor Barbara Case said.
That feeling of panic is exactly what scammers want, according to New Look Computer and Data owner Jason Denovich.
"If you were to rewind the tape and go back 10 years, I would see somebody get scammed out of money maybe once a month. And nowadays in 2025, I literally will have at least two customers come in my store every single day who have fallen for some sort of scam," Denovich said.
Denovich said his number one tip for neighbors to avoid scams is to always verify who you're talking to.
"I would say 99% of the things that we see in our store every single day, if the customer had just verified the other end of who they were talking to, and slowed down and not panicked, they would've probably not been scammed," Denovich said.
Other important tips from Denovich and Deputy Chief Tobias include:
- Never send money to someone you don't know
- Be suspicious of urgent requests for money or personal information
- Don't click on links in emails or texts from unknown senders
- Contact companies directly using official phone numbers if you receive suspicious communications
Both experts emphasize that awareness is key in fighting this issue.
"The more people we make aware of the scams that are going around, the less likely they are to fall for them," Denovich said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want more FOX 47 News? Here's how you download our Roku app
You can also see the latest news from across our mid-Michigan neighborhoods by liking us on Facebook or following us on X.
