The Auburn Police Department has one thing to tell area residents this week: if it sounds too good to be true, then it is too good to be true.
Two Auburn women were the victims of money scams that were reported within two hours of each other to the APD Tuesday afternoon.
One woman was defrauded of $1,885 after she wired money to Montreal, Canada, to collect supposed lottery winnings. Another woman was given a fraudulent money order to cash for payment of the sale of her van over the Internet.
The Auburn Police Department hopes these two experiences will remind city residents to think twice when receiving the common queries over the telephone, the Internet or in the mail about lottery winnings or helping someone in a foreign country by accepting money.
The woman who was defrauded received a letter by mail July 24 that she had won the Swiss Gaming Commission Lottery for $80,960.
The letter told her she needed to send a Western Union money order of $1,885 to cover taxes and clearance fees.
The woman wired the money, but did not receive the supposed winnings.
She then checked out the company Friday and discovered it was a scam. She reported the fraud to the APD 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The APD has opened a fourth-degree grand larceny investigation.
The other woman made her police report at 4 p.m.
She said she sold her van over the Internet to a person in London, England, for $4,300. She was sent a money order for $6,600.
She was to cash the order, keep $4,300 for the money order and give $2,300 to the “agent” of the person buying the van.
This resident was turned away from the bank she took the money order to because it was fraudulent.
She still has the van. The APD has opened an attempted fourth-degree grand larceny investigation.
The APD did not name the residents in order to protect their identities.
The information from these types of scams are filed to a central location by the APD with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's and National White Collar Crime Center's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
It is hard for a local law enforcement agency to track scam artists who are located in other states and other countries, said APD Detective Lt. James Bender.
For example, Western Union money orders can be cashed anywhere.
Bender said his department receives reports of similar scams every few weeks.
But it was unusual to receive two such reports within two hours, he said.
Residents can report cyber crime themselves to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
One woman was defrauded of $1,885 after she wired money to Montreal, Canada, to collect supposed lottery winnings. Another woman was given a fraudulent money order to cash for payment of the sale of her van over the Internet.
The Auburn Police Department hopes these two experiences will remind city residents to think twice when receiving the common queries over the telephone, the Internet or in the mail about lottery winnings or helping someone in a foreign country by accepting money.
The woman who was defrauded received a letter by mail July 24 that she had won the Swiss Gaming Commission Lottery for $80,960.
The letter told her she needed to send a Western Union money order of $1,885 to cover taxes and clearance fees.
The woman wired the money, but did not receive the supposed winnings.
She then checked out the company Friday and discovered it was a scam. She reported the fraud to the APD 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The APD has opened a fourth-degree grand larceny investigation.
The other woman made her police report at 4 p.m.
She said she sold her van over the Internet to a person in London, England, for $4,300. She was sent a money order for $6,600.
She was to cash the order, keep $4,300 for the money order and give $2,300 to the “agent” of the person buying the van.
This resident was turned away from the bank she took the money order to because it was fraudulent.
She still has the van. The APD has opened an attempted fourth-degree grand larceny investigation.
The APD did not name the residents in order to protect their identities.
The information from these types of scams are filed to a central location by the APD with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's and National White Collar Crime Center's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
It is hard for a local law enforcement agency to track scam artists who are located in other states and other countries, said APD Detective Lt. James Bender.
For example, Western Union money orders can be cashed anywhere.
Bender said his department receives reports of similar scams every few weeks.
But it was unusual to receive two such reports within two hours, he said.
Residents can report cyber crime themselves to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
The Citizens' Say
There are 2 comment(s)
Nick wrote on Aug 17, 2006 4:36 PM:
m&m wrote on Aug 17, 2006 3:43 PM: