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The number of people trying to scam you out of your money and/or personal information seems to be increasing lately.

We've received several reports in recent days of scammers on the prowl, trying to take advantage of Montanans.

On Friday, Georgette wrote:

I just received a call from a guy who stated the federal government wants to give me a $7000 grant (tax-free of course) for having good credit, never having filed bankruptcy, etc. After he asked his questions, (verified address, asked for date of birth (which I did not give)..he told me if I called a phone number he gave me and talked to his supervisors (this was a Washington DC phone number)..they would send me the $7000.

After hanging up from this call I called the Montana Consumer Affairs Division. The man there told me this is definitely a scam.

I just wanted to forward you so if you receive a call like this just hang up...the federal government is "NOT" handing out $7000 checks to reward you for having good credit, etc.

If you're contacted by someone who is trying to scam you, you can contact the MT Office of Consumer Protection.

And on Thursday, we received this phone scam warning from Randy Sakalis.

I received a phone call from 645-781-2458 around 6:20 this evening claiming to be "tech support". The caller had a heavy accent and said that he received a report that my computer was running slow and had errors, and asked if this was true. I just said "wrong" and hung up.

Researching the phone number in Google, I found that this number has been involved in several scams in the past, including the type of call I received tonight. A short mention on the News warning people in this area to be aware of this scam may be in order. I suspect that the caller probably part of a phishing scheme hoping to gain remote access to computers in this area.

If you're ever contacted by email or by phone from someone claiming to from "support" - whether it's from a bank or a computer company or any other business or government agency - and you didn't initiate the contact, it's always wise to be careful.

Thanks to Georgette and Randy for alerting us to these scams.

Here are some tips from the FBI on preventing identity theft and phone scams:

Never give personal information via telephone, mail or the Internet, unless you initiated the contact.

Never throw away ATM receipts, credit statements, credit cards, or bank statements in a usable form.

Never give your credit card number over the telephone unless you make the call.

Reconcile your bank account monthly, and notify your bank of discrepancies immediately.

Report unauthorized financial transactions to your bank, credit card company, and the police as soon as you detect them.

Review a copy of your credit report at least once each year. Notify the credit bureau in writing of any questionable entries and follow through until they are explained or removed.

The Federal Trade Commission offers this warning:

Some criminals lie on the telephone to get your personal information. They may lie about who they are, claiming that they're from a legitimate company and that you have a problem with your account. Or they may pose as representatives of a bank or government agency and ask you to confirm your billing information. Once they have your personal information, they can use it to commit identity theft charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.