BROOKINGS – Sgt. Joel Perry of the Brookings Police has an emphatic warning.

“The Police Department would like to remind people that gift cards are for gifts, not for paying bills,” he said. “If someone asks for a gift card, I would be very, very, very suspicious.”

The Ghana gold scam is back and cost one area resident a lot of money.

“It’s all about smuggling gold out of Ghana. This is one that’s been around before,” Perry said.

“This individual lost over $15,000,” Perry said. The victim was “an individual here in the city of Brookings that supplied gift cards in a scam originating in Ghana, Africa.”

“They want you to give them money to help them get the gold out of Ghana,” Perry said. “People are telling you that you get a portion of it when they get (the gold) out.”

“If anyone calls you and wants you to donate or help anyone but they specifically require gift cards, that’s when you should be suspicious of what’s going on and probably terminate that conversation,” Perry said.

Legitimate debts should be paid with a traceable method, so you can prove you paid the bills, he said.

“Legitimate people that ask for donations are not gonna ask for gift cards. They’re gonna ask for, like you said, a credit card or a check or something like that,” Perry said.

“I would avoid giving gift cards to anything … gift cards are for gifts,” he said.