KGVY Radio, Monday, November 12, 2007

Green Valley Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers

Bill Roskey

This past week a Green Valley resident picked up three days’ worth of mail and set it on the car seat. She reported to SAV that she then went to her home and proceeded to load a number of items into the car, and, since she needed to make several trips back and forth to the house, she left the car doors and trunk unlocked. Afterward, she discovered that the mail was missing, and, included in the mail were several checks. Green Valley has had other instances of stolen mail recently, underscoring the need to be careful. Even when mail doesn’t include checks or cash, it will often contain personal data like account numbers and other identifiers that can be used by identity thieves.

This past week, another Green Valley resident reported a familiar scam to SAV—this one being an offer of employment over the internet. The victim is told that he will be sent a certain amount of money in the form of Traveler’s checks, which he is asked to deposit in his account. It’s usually $2,000. The victim is then asked to send a wire transfer to someone else (usually in Nigeria) for 90 percent of that amount. The remaining 10 percent is his. It is his payment for performing this service. The victim is also told that he will be asked to do this on a regular basis, creating a steady income. This is a scam. The Travelers’ checks are counterfeit, but they are of such high quality that they fool not only the victim, but the average bank teller as well. This means that the victim will usually have sent off the wire transfer to the crooks before the bank determines that the Travelers’ checks are counterfeit.

This past week saw another identity theft of a Green Valley resident. In this case, a man reported to SAV that there were unauthorized charges on two of his credit cards. Once of the card companies suspected that the charges were fraudulent and asked the man if they were legitimate (they were not). When he received his monthly statement for his other credit card, he saw fraudulent charges against it as well. This is a good reminder to carefully check your credit card statements as soon as you receive them and to safeguard your cards and account numbers.