St. Johns County officials are warning the public about “real estate ransom” which consists of unethical local investors or even more organized crime groups holding the title of a home captive until the owner pays a huge fee.

The good news: there are some simple steps you can take before you hand over any money to make sure you aren’t being scammed.

If you want to help those devastated by the fires, you need to be smart with your money.

If there was a Scammers Hall of Shame, this one would make the Top 10 List, without question.

Recent layoffs in industries like the tech sector have scammers fine-tuning their approaches to take advantage. They may advertise jobs online, sometimes setting up fake websites, or look for targets on social media — all to try to steal your money and personal information.

Scammers may offer to give you a check for more than the selling price. They tell you to deposit the check and send the difference back to them.

Protect yourself by “simply not participating in the scam,” said officials.

Some people are cleaning up Monday in Rivertown after an intense hail storm swept through that St. Johns County neighborhood on Sunday.

A local woman called News4jax this week asking about a call she received from someone who appeared to be contacting her from our news station.

As ever, when scammers spot a crisis in the world, they are there to take advantage.

Those calls are labeled as a risk or blocked altogether. The service is free and there’s nothing consumers need to do to take advantage of it.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Scammers are posing as contact tracers and trying to trick people into giving them their credit card numbers. They are using social media, robocalls or text messages to contact their victims, preying on your concerns about being exposed to COVID-19 to get their hands on your personal information. RELATED: State leaders warn of scam contact tracer callsStephens said scammers pose as authorities or officials to make themselves look legitimate. While legitimate contract tracers need to obtain private information to confirm your identity before releasing medical information, they will never ask for money, Stephens said. Tell them youll call them back and then contact your local health department directly to confirm someone there is really trying to reach you.

Don’t fall prey: Scammers creating fake customer service info onlinePublished: August 6, 2020, 11:32 pmIf you spotted fake customer “service,” report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

DEA warning about scammers impersonating agentsPublished: July 29, 2020, 11:19 pmJacksonville agent says he was targeted by scammer who called his cellphone.

Now, scammers are luring people into paying them with Bitcoin -- a type of digital money or cryptocurrency. Read on to learn how to spot and avoid some of the top ways scammers are trying to get you to pay with Bitcoin. This scammer might use threats, intimidation, and high-pressure tactics to get you to pay right away. This type of scam works like a chain letter: someone promises that you’ll make money if you pay into the scheme. Spot a cryptocurrency scam?