Current scams - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

31 January 2008 — The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office would like to make our citizens aware of three fraudulent scams that have been occurring in Wayne County.

The first one chooses its victim from sales ads that are placed on the internet or any type of publication that posts things for sale. The perpetrator will choose an item and then contact the person selling the item. He will then contact the seller and state his interest in purchasing the item. He then tells the seller that he will send them a check for a lot more than the item is being sold for. Recently we know of an item being sold for $900.00 but the perpetrator sent a check for $3400.00 to the seller with instructions to cash the check, keep the selling amount and then wire the remaining money to a different person for shipping expenses. They give instructions to wire the money immediately by Western Union and then the shipper will come to the house to pick up the item. The check that is sent to the seller is a counterfeit check and is not worth anything. If a bank or any business cashes this check it will later be returned and then the bank or business will be collecting from the person that cashed the check. In the meantime, if the excess money was sent out by the seller, the perpetrator has profited in that amount. The people instigating this scam are often using the RELAY Phone System as if they are hearing impaired. This is possibly an attempt to legitimize their actions by gathering sympathy from the victim or to hide identifiable voice characteristics. Recently Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Sherwood Daly was also a target of this scam when he and his wife were attempting to sell an item. At this time the Sheriff’s Office has not had a report of anyone completing this transaction but there have been several reports of attempts.

The difficult part about following up on these incidents is that the majority of the time the perpetrator is calling from out of state and will call from several different locations.
It is important to remember that the businesses such as Relay, Western Union or the businesses printing the sales ads are legitimate businesses and are not involved in this scam. Several times these businesses have cooperated with any investigations. The public needs to be also aware that when you wire money it can be picked up at other Western Union location besides the one you intend it to go to, if you have the proper transaction information.

Persons on Social Security are also being targeted by other persons. These people are being contacted on the telephone by persons claiming to work for or represent the Social Security Administration. They will state that they need to discuss Social Security Changes or tell them how the victim can increase their Social Security Check. They will then state that they will send someone to their home to gather information or discuss this with them. There have been several reports of this happening in Wayne County but there have not been any reports of anyone allowing these people into their homes. It is not clear at this time what the perpetrators are targeting. We do not know if they are attempting to acquire information from the victims for identity theft or if they are actually attempting to enter the homes to steal other items. Recently a Wayne County Citizen received this telephone call and two white males driving a blue car did arrive at the residence. The citizen realized that it was a national holiday and that the Social Security Office was not open and did not allow the suspects into the residence. The Sheriff’s Office was contacted and is seeking leads on the identity of the suspects. If any citizens have information pertaining to this they are asked to contact the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

Persons are also being contacted by telephone and told that they have won a large amount of money. First of all if you have not entered a sweepstakes of some type how does a person expect to win? These people are attempting to solicit information from the victim such as bank account numbers, social security numbers or other personal information. People should never give out this information unless they are the ones soliciting the business.

The Sheriff’s Office wants the citizens to be aware of these scams once again affecting Wayne County. None of these scams are new and there are a lot more out there. Some of them have been around since the 1960s. If something is too good to be true it usually is. People should always protect all of their personal information. The people that attempt these scams are professional con artist and are good at what they do. They would not be doing it if they weren’t. Some victims attempt to outsmart these perpetrators by keeping them on the phone. This is not a good idea because it gives the perpetrators longer time to solicit information from the victim. Just hang up. If a person believes the call could be legitimate, hang up, look up the number in the phone book and call the business back.

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Issue of 31 January 2008

Wayne Wilson News Leader
113 N. Wilson St., PO Box 158,
Fremont, NC 27830
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