File photo Houghton PD advised residents on Sunday scams claiming to be Wayne County court summons are circulating.

HOUGHTON — The City of Houghton Police Department sent out a warning Sunday informing people of targeted scams in the area. These scams appear to be court summons demanding payment for alleged traffic violations.

The example provided by Houghton PD is a fake court summons from Nebraska, but says the ones residents are seeing are impersonating Wayne County, Mich.

Houghton PD Administrative Assistant, Polly Salmi, said this scam is not new and may have been circulating six months prior.

“Do not respond to them,” she said. “Do not open them and do not send them money.”

According to the department’s Facebook post, there are several ways to spot the scam. Some of the language in the scam includes “formerly declared delinquent,” “enforcement active” and “immediate and complete action.”

These terms are used to scare people into giving away their payment information, police said.

A QR code has also been found in these notices, like in the Nebraska example. Salmi said these codes are not to be scanned.

“They want you to scan that,” she said. “If you scan that QR code, it might bring you to where you have to put in your checking or banking information to pay the bill type thing.”

Houghton PD said if a court is legitimately asking for you to pay a parking violation fee, it will ask you to pay through a verified government payment portal — not a scannable QR code.

Salmi said there are certain people more at risk to fall for these types of scams than others. Including the elderly and those who travel a lot.

Houghton PD said it advises people to ignore the notices and throw them away. If people have questions, they can call their local police department.

“If they have any questions, they can feel free to call their local police department, you know, not just us,” she said. “But the biggest thing is do not open [notices], do not contact these people and do not send them money.”

City of Hancock Police Chief, Tami Sleeman, said she did not receive any scam complaints involving fake court summons from Hancock residents, but still advises those who are concerned to call law enforcement.

“Anytime somebody asks you, saying you won something or they’re calling you and telling you to get gift cards — that’s a big red flag right there,” she said. “It’s probably a scam and they should call their local police.”