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Scams

July 27th, 2012 at 07:24 pm

I belong to an organization that works to combat financial fraud and crime in our community. We met this week and discussed current trends. Unfortunately, several folks have recently been victimized by the "Heres a big check, keep $X and send me back the rest via western union" scam.

It is hard to see this being pulled over and over again - and no matter how hard we try to get the message out, people still fall victim to it.

We even have the western union reps watching out for it...but some people are so {desperate, naive, greedy, etc} that they insist on sending the $$ anyway. The scammers even tell the victims "dont talk about the details of this transaction to the bank or with western union"..aich.

Another scam that is still active is on the elderly. "Gramma, Im stuck in another country with no money, can you send me some"...or..."I just noticed your roof looks bad and needs to be repaired".. I detest people who prey on our elderly.

My advice- be cautious when dealing with strangers. No matter how good the story sounds, proceed with caution when western union is involved. ASK the bank teller, the western union rep, or your local police.

Unsolicited repairmen should raise red flags. Dont allow any work until you have gotten a second opionion from a trusted company.

And finally, if it sounds too good to be true, no matter how tempting, it probably is.

Posted in general thoughts, 2012 | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Scams”

  1. North Georgia Gal Says:
    July 27th, 2012 at 07:33 pm 1343414022
    1343414022

    I can't believe how many people fall for the big check scam. I was selling something on craigslist and someone tried to do that to me. I held firm and didn't fall for it.

  2. LuckyRobin Says:
    July 27th, 2012 at 08:29 pm 1343417347
    1343417347

    Someone pulled the grandson stuck in Canada scam on my husband's grandmother once...in regard to my husband who was 35 and working in Alaska at the time. She freaked out. She didn't have the common sense to realize that if my husband had been stuck in Canada with no money (highly unlikely with credit cards) he would have called his wife directly on his cell phone and not had some stranger call his grandmother. Instead of her calling me to see where he was or calling him on his cell phone, she called virtually everyone else in the entire family. And she was mentally competent at the time. Just goes to show what a good scammer can do to a person. She did not send money, at least, but she had to be talked out of it by several people and only a phone call from DH telling her it was a common scam calmed her down.

  3. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    July 28th, 2012 at 12:40 am 1343432406
    1343432406

    Add this one to your list: Even nurses are getting the big check scam. Someone represents themselves online as an agency hiring temp/travelling nurses and sends the applicant a fat check to cover travel & lodging expenses to come to an initial interview, and even sometimes covering a first two weeks pay, before any job has even started. They then explain why they must have part of the money sent back, and....you know the rest!

  4. Looking Forward Says:
    July 28th, 2012 at 11:34 pm 1343514847
    1343514847

    It really Pi$$es me off too when the elderly are scammed. Esp. praying on them by telling them their family is in danger!

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