KGVY Radio, Monday, May 5, 2008

Green Valley Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers

Bill Roskey

Scams continue to victimize people. The newest one has to do with the Federal government’s economic stimulus payment, also called the rebate. These rebates range from $600 for an individual to $1200 for a couple. The government began sending electronic payments went out on April 28, and will begin sending out the first paper checks on May 9. Already the scammers are trying to exploit this program. One tactic that’s being used is sending a very official looking e-mail with the IRS logo. The bogus e-mail says that the IRS is ready to send out your rebate as soon as you reply with your Social Security number and the number of your bank account. This is a scam. An IRS official says that the IRS never contacts tax payers by e-mail. Expect people to try this over the phone as well.

A Green Valley resident recently reported a more familiar scam in our area. She told SAV that she was sent four Walmart Money Grams, each for $485 for a total of $3380. Her instructions were to deposit the Money Grams in her bank account and then to mail two personal checks for $1400 to two different addresses in Nigeria. She could keep the remaining $580. The Money Grams were forgeries. This particular scam has been used often in Green Valley during the past year with enough success to make con men keep using it. In this case, it was Walmart Money Grams. It is usually Traveler’s Checks, but whatever form it takes, it relies on the fact that the documents usually won’t be discovered to be fakes until after the victim sends his or her very real own money off to strangers who are often in foreign countries. While most bank tellers can easily spot counterfeit currency, they usually cannot spot excellent forgeries of certain other financial instruments like Traveler’s Checks or Money Grams.