LAPEER -- The following are the top scams plaguing Lapeer County residents and businesses.
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Law enforcement and banking officials meet regularly to discuss security issues. At the suggestion of Michigan State Police D/Sgt. Mark Reaves, the group compiled the list of cons seen most often in the community, said Lapeer County Bank & Trust operations and security officer Carol Ugorowski:
Sweepstakes/publishers clearing house scam: Residents get a letter or e-mail stating that they won a lot of money in some type of lottery or sweepstakes. They also receive a check (an "advance" on your winnings) to help cover the taxes/fees to get your winnings. They cash the check and have to wire the money out (by Western Union or MoneyGram) to cover the taxes/fees.
The check is returned by the financial institution it is payable through "counterfeit" after you wire out the money. The victim is out the money.
Secret shopper, mystery shopper or shadow shopper job scam: Victims respond to a job advertisement in the newspaper want ads, at an online job site, in an e-mail solicitation, or through a letter that was mailed to them. They are supposed to evaluate the level of service you receive at different local merchants. They send you a check (which is counterfeit) to be used to make some purchases. They state how much money from the check will be your pay for the job. One of your job duties will be to wire cash out to a person that they specify (you will say it is your relative) from a local store (usually Wal-Mart) to evaluate their money gram service.
The check is returned "counterfeit" after you have sent out the money. You are out the money.
Financial assistant job scam: You respond to a job offer to work from home as a local representative and handle payments in the United States for a company located overseas. You will be sent checks from people in the U.S. who owe payments to your new employer. You deposit the checks in your bank account. You keep a percentage as your pay. You wire the money to a person (usually out of the country) and the checks are returned counterfeit. You are out the money.
n Selling overpayment scam: You are selling something on E-Bay or similar site, Craig's list, in the newspaper, etc. You are contacted by someone who wants to buy and they send you a check for payment that is higher than the selling price. The buyer has a story as to why the check was too much (i.e. they made a mistake; someone owed them money and they had them send their check to you) and the buyer requests that you wire the difference back to them. You cash the check and after you send the money, the check is returned "counterfeit" and you are out the money.
Other red flags when you are selling are when the buyer rushes you to accept a cashier's check late in the evening or during the weekend -- the check is counterfeit.
The buyer wants to deal via the Internet and not telephone or the buyer is not willing to disclose their address. The buyer gives you a phone number, address or e-mail in the U.S., but later you find out they are fictitious and the buyer's real location is out of the country.
Purchasing scam: You are purchasing a used vehicle on Craig's List. The vehicle is a good price (less than the true value) and the seller has a story to explain it. The seller tells you the arrangements for the shipping of the vehicle through a company where his bother-in-law works so it will cost nothing to ship it. The seller also tells you to wire your payment of cash to a representative's name who will hold the funds and notify the seller that they received the funds.
The seller will ship the car to you to inspect and make the decision to keep the car or not, then you contact the payment company to release the funds. You wire the money, never get the car, and no one has a record of the transaction.
Dating scam: You meet scammers on an Internet dating site or are contacted by e-mail from someone in a foreign country. After corresponding with the scammer for some time, you become convinced that the scammer is in love with you and they want to come to the U.S. to "meet" you, or they need a new computer to continue corresponding.
The scammer sends you a check and asks you to cash it for them and wire the money to them to pay for their travel costs or to pay for a new computer. The check is counterfeit.
Asking for your help type scams: You receive an e-mail or letter with a sad story. Many of these letters are confusing since they have bad grammar and are usually from a foreign country. They have some kind of story asking for your help. You are mailed or sent by overnight delivery one or more checks which look real, but are counterfeit or stolen. They may look like real travelers checks, U.S. Postal Money Orders, cashier checks, or official checks, but they are counterfeit. You are told that you get to keep a percentage of the money. You deposit the checks and then wire cash to a name they give you. The checks are returned counterfeit after you have wired out the cash and you are out the money. Other versions of the scam ask for your personal information.
Bank phone call scam: You receive a random phone call. The caller says they are with a bank but don't identify any particular financial institution. They have a story, such as your account will be frozen until they verify the account number, and ask you for your numbers. Your financial institution would never make a phone call asking for your account number or personal information.
Jury duty phone call scam: You receive a call from an officer of the court saying that you missed jury duty. If you don't give them your Social Security number, driver's license number or some other personal information they ask for, an arrest warrant will be issued for you.
Family member is hurt phone call scam: Caller tells you that your family member has been in an accident and need money for property damage.
They may even convince you that you have spoken to your hurt relative on the phone. You have to wire money out to the caller.
Gas, electric or telephone company scam: You receive a call regarding non-payment of your bill. They say if you do not give them your bank account number and other personal information that they will shut off your power.
