Lansford police, who have been getting an increasing number of calls from residents complaining of scams perpetrated by mail, e-mail and telephone, are warning people to be cautious about giving out personal or financial information.

Residents have gotten calls from scammers claiming to be able to reduce credit card interest rates, home heating oil costs or announcing that the resident has won a lottery or contest, said officer Chris Ondrus.But the calls and notifications are just a way to finding out bank account information, credit card numbers or other financial information that can be used to drain accounts."All this stuff is just another scam," he said. "If you receive anything in the mail, by e-mail or over the phone, don't give any any personal information. It seems as if they are preying on just about everybody."ondrus asks that anyone on the receiving end of such a scam call police so they can document it.