- If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true; don't be a victim
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The scammers are out in force once again and those who live in Nephi are not immune from being taken advantage of.
John Shepherd, Nephi City Police Officer, said there had been two cases in the last few days where residents of the community had been contacted by scammers.
"The first case happened last week when a local woman was scammed," said Shepherd. "She lost money to the scam."
KSL classifieds advertised an offer for those who would work with a company who had developed a new logo for a soft drink. The company requested that those who would let their car be wrapped with the new logo accept a payment for doing that service.
They were to receive the money for the service they were providing in letting their vehicle be used and they were to receive money to have the car wrapping done.
The company then forwarded a check to the woman which was for several thousand dollars. She was to keep her share of the money and then forward the rest, approximately $5,000, in the form of a money order to the company which would do the car wrapping.
"The check proved to be a fake and the bank is holding the woman responsible for the money—both the funds she kept and the funds she forwarded," said Shepherd.
As to be expected, everyone has disappeared and the local woman has been left holding the bag.
Tuesday, a phone scam was attempted, said Shepherd.
"A local couple were contacted by phone by a person pretending to be their grandson," said Shepherd.
At first, the couple were buying into the scam because the person making the phone call sounded just like their grandson. The caller said that the grandson needed help because he had gone to Canada for a friend's wedding and had got into legal trouble. He needed cash to bail out so he could return home.
"There was quite a bit of static on the line," said Shepherd.
That may have helped the caller sound more like the grandson. The couple, however, began asking personal questions that the caller could not answer and so the caller hung up.
Shepherd said that he was putting together a case on both of the incidents and would then turn copies of the results over to the FBI.
"Remember," he said, "if it sounds too good to be true it is too good to be true."
Those who have been scammed or who suspect that someone they know has been scammed, should begin by contacting the local police department or county sheriff's office. The experienced officers will take a report and will contact the specific federal agency dealing with that kind of crime.
Consumers who have been scammed can also go the the page: http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/reporting.php#AFf. There is much information about the agencies which should be contacted, in addition to the local police.
The top scams being used at this time are:
1. Lottery Scams include scams which can go under the name of genuine lotteries. Unsolicited email or telephone calls tell people they are being entered or have already been entered into a prize draw. But before they can claim their prize, they are told they must send money to pay for administration fees and taxes. No genuine lottery asks for money to pay fees or notifies it's winners via email.
2. Internet Auction Frauds (commonly called Ebay or PayPal scams, after the two largest venues) is a misrepresentation of a product advertised for sale through an Internet auction site or the failure to deliver products purchased.
3. Nigerian Advance Fee Frauds take the form of an offer, via letter, e-mail or fax, to share a huge sum of money in return for using the recipient's bank account to transfer of the money out of the country. The perpetrators will often then use the bank account details to empty their victim's bank account.
4. Phishing and pharming for identity theft. In these frauds, an email is sent to a victim that appears to be from a credible, real bank or credit card company, with links to a website and a request to update account information. But the website and email are fakes.
5. "Passive Residual Income" scams or get rich schemes offer to help you make money in your spare time. These websites are themselves scams; claiming to offer you a good deal, when at best, their products are worthless, they have no real secrets, and worse, some are identity thieves.
6. Lotteries and others that send a counterfeit check. You receive a check in the mail--either from a lottery you "won" (without buying a ticket) or from an EBay buyer or other source. It looks real, but after you try to cash it (and sometimes succeed), you find out it is a fake; and you're arrested or in trouble for passing a counterfeit check.
7. Free Credit Report.com. The name of the website is freecreditreport.com, but you'll only get a credit report when you sign up for a paid service. There is a government website where you can get a free credit report.
8. Work-at-home and business opportunity scams are advertised as paid work from home. The applicant is asked for money up-front to pay for materials and, after paying, they hear nothing back.
9. Invest in a business. People are asked to invest in a business that has little chance of success.
10. Matrix/Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Schemes. Such schemes offer a return on a financial investment based on the number of new recruits to the scheme. There are simply not enough people to support the scheme.
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