Leesburg Police
Posted: Thursday, November 28, 2013 6:00 am
The Leesburg Police Department is investigating several recent complaints of subjects identifying themselves as law enforcement officers and intimidating victims into sending cash through wire transactions or pre-paid gift cards to settle debts or avoid the possibility of criminal charges to themselves or relatives.
In one recent case, a victim was contacted by someone representing himself as a federal agent. The suspect claimed the victim faced criminal charges unless a money gram was sent to an address in the Dominican Republic.
In another case, a resident was contacted by someone claiming to be a federal agent and implicating the victim in a tax scheme in which the victim was told that he owed back taxes and demanding the immediate payment through the use of pre-paid gift cards.
According to the police department warning, people too often fall victim to scam artists looking to turn a quick profit by playing on the fears of victims by implying that they or one of their loved ones is in some sort of trouble.
Another way the people get taken advantage of is through advance–fee frauds. While most scams begin with a spam email request for assistance in unlocking frozen assets, this fraud usually begins when a resident responds to an advertisement to work as a “secret shopper.” Ads for this type of work can be found online on websites such as craigslist or in local newspapers. On a few occasions victims have been contacted after placing their information on job finder websites such as monster.com. When victims respond to such scams they are mailed, usually via FedEx or UPS, a check which they are asked to cash. They are then directed to send a majority of the cash through Western Union or Money Gram location to a third party and are instructed to keep a portion of the money, usually $200-$250, as payment. They are asked to complete a short email survey regarding their experience at the Western Union or Money Gram office. This generally takes two to three days to complete. Most banks take seven to 10 days to determine that the check that was cashed was fraudulent. By then it is too late to stop the transaction and the victim is responsible for the fraudulent funds.
According to the police department warning, residents should alert law enforcement if they have been victims of these types of schemes. To avoid trouble, residents are advised to:
• avoid offers to cash checks or receive wire transfers in exchange for a portion of the sum as you can be held financially responsible when the transaction is deemed fraudulent;
• never send money via Western Union or Money Gram to someone you do not personally know; and
• remember the expression: If it seems too good to be true it usually is.
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Leesburg
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Thursday, November 28, 2013 6:00 am.