Identity Protection - Don’t Be A Victim Of A Scam
How many times have you opened an email to find that you’re the recipient of a fortune left by someone who mysteriously died in a plane crash (the likeliest scenario) without any beneficiaries. The people who send these letters usually reside in Nigeria, but recently there are some new twists to these scams.
I was nearly the victim of these scammers on two separate occasions. Fortunately, I knew something wasn’t right and investigated. The first letter and check I received was supposedly from a large corporation that manufactured snowmobiles and other outdoor equipment in Canada. When I took the check to my bank and explained what happened, they even thought it was authentic. They sent it to another office out of state and that’s when it was discovered to be fraudulent. In the meantime, I had found the mailing address and phone number for the corporate office of the company and called them. The person I spoke with was grateful that I took the time to contact him, and they launched their own investigation. Eventually I discovered that this operation was working out of the Ukraine.
The second time this happened, the bank the check was issued from was in Florida. I was to cash the check, keep 10% and remit the remainder to their “agent.” After my first experience, I immediately checked into this one too.when I called the 800 number on the letter they sent, I asked where the company was located. The woman I spoke with claimed to be in a call center in the US for a company in Canada However she wouldn’t give me a mailing address or even divulge what state she was in. She claimed that it was urgent that I deposit it right away, since they’d have to cancel the order if I didn’t. My next step was to call the Florida bank. When I told their representative about the case, she said she was glad I didn’t try to cash it because it was fraudulent, and they had so many people calling them about the same thing, they had already started investigating.
The latest scam involves online chat or dating sites. MSNBC has investigated what they are calling the “Sweetheart Scams.” These people are even worse (if that’s possible) than the typical scammer, because they play on people’s emotions. they gain the trust of the intended victim, then attempt to get them to cash money orders that have been altered so they seem to be for larger amounts than they actually are.
The US Secret Service is involved and has a website devoted to the 419 alerts. Be careful online and don’t divulge personal information to anyone you don’t know.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8704213
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