TERRELL, Texas — The Terrell Police Department is warning of potential mail fraud which was avoided by at least one alert Terrell resident in one instance.
TERRELL, Texas — The Terrell Police Department is warning of potential mail fraud which was avoided by at least one alert Terrell resident in one instance.
“Terrell Police would like to caution and warn potential victims of a mail fraud scam that seems to have surfaced recently,” explained Captain A.D. Sansom of the Terrell Police Department.
Sansom warns of mystery shopper programs and unsolicited mailings including checks, money orders, and other forms of payment with instructions to cash the form of payment as a service.
On the mystery shopper programs, Sansom says there are some legitimate programs that exist but most should be avoided. More from the Federal Trade Commission on mystery shopper scams, here.
On the unsolicited mailings instructing the recipient to cash a form of payment, Sansom says the recipients are asked to cash the form of payment from one party and asked to wire service the payment to another party. The recipient would received a false commission for doing the transaction but in reality they cashed a forged financial instrument.
The would-be Terrell victim was “sent money orders that appeared very authentic, but upon further inspection are clear forgeries,” said Sansom. “The party was told to cash the $1970.00 money orders and keep $200. Then send a larger portion to one location and a purchase their own money order in a different amount and send it to a separate location, as a fee for doing business.”
“This simply will result in the victim unwittingly committing forgery and then essentially giving away their own money to another independent party, likely an unidentifiable source,” he said.
Sansom gives these tips to avoid be the victim of a scam:
• Secure a written contract.
• Always ask for verifiable identification
• Check the phone number/business address given to ensure validity.
• Search online for complaints from other victims
• Verify information.
“These fraudsters depend upon potential victims not knowing about banking practices, currency security features, and tend to prey on the greedy, elderly or those whose first language is not English” Sansom cautioned. “They try and confuse folks with very specific instructions and purport rules, laws, fees and the like. If things don’t seem right, or there is any question, do not participate.”
