POLICE WARN OF NEW SCAM

The old adage “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” holds as true today as it ever has, probably more so.

For that reason, the Chickasha Police Department wants to warn citizens to be aware of a new type of scam being perpetrated on unsuspecting victims by unscrupulous individuals.

According to Chickasha Police Chief Lynn Williams, individuals using the name of legitimate companies such as Consumer Impressions, Inc., a mystery shopper company, have cheated, or have attempted to cheat, unwary consumers out of thousands of dollars across the U. S.

“They’re ripping off people all over the country through e-mail, phone calls and the U.S. Mail,” said Williams.

The ruse is to send people a letter and a cashiers check for amounts ranging from $1,000 to $4,500 and then instructing them to cash the check and transfer all but about $300 of the money from a wire transfer facility, typically a Wal-Mart store, to an international address, often in Canada. The $300 the victim is allowed to “keep” is said to be payment for completing an assignment and/or training, according to the National Association of Mystery Shoppers.

However, within a few days, victims are notified that the check has bounced. Unfortunately, because both the check and the company that issued it are bogus, victims have no recourse and are unable to recover any of their money, leaving them liable for the entire amount, including bank fees.

Other similar scams involve mailing victims unsolicited letters and cashiers checks issued in their name for around $5,000, with instructions to call the company’s office upon receipt of the letter for further instructions. Victims are told to deposit the check into their bank account.

The company then requests that the victim wire most of the money back to them via Western Union or Money Gram, usually several thousand dollars to cover “administrative taxes,” “government taxes,” or “certificates of clearance and insurance.”

Some letters claim to be from “mystery shopper” companies, while others claim the victim has been “randomly selected by computer” and that they have won tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in the “2008 Power Pay Stake,” the “North American Lottery Game,” or other bogus sweepstakes. Some even make references to legitimate sweepstakes like the Publisher’s Clearing House or Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes, but are not affiliated with either organization.

One letter, for example, which included a check for $4,900 made out in the victim’s name, asked her to deposit the entire amount into her bank account and then wire $3,950 back to the company “to facilitate the delivery of (her) won large lump sum.”

According to the letter, once the “tax payment” was “processed,” a final check lump-sum payment would be delivered to her by UPS or FedEx.

However, these checks are fraudulent, leaving the victims poorer but, hopefully, wiser, after being cheated out of hundreds or even thousands of dollars, often on top of large bank fees.

In addition, these bogus companies sometimes attempt to reassure their victims about their legitimacy by advising them about their “security protocol” which will “avoid any fraudulent activity that might hinder or delay the processing and remittance “ of their prizes.