Knox County Sheriff warns about e-mail scams in area
Friday, December 15, 2006
GALESBURG - The Knox County Sheriff's Department is warning residents about recent e-mail scams they have been investigating in our area.Police say there are warning signs that should make people suspicious of these scams.
- The person sending you an e-mail is from Nigeria or another country.
- You received information without requesting it.
- Your computer will identify the e-mail as spam.
One scam, dubbed the Nigerian scam, promises large rewards for helping rich businessmen or government officials leave the country. The exact details vary, but the end result is that the scammer will send the victim a cashier's check or money order. The victim is instructed to cash the check, return the majority of money to the scammer, then keep the remainder. These checks can appear real and it can take several weeks before discovering they are forgeries.
Another scam involves eBay auctions. A scam artist will contact the victim who has listed something for sale on the auction site. The scammer sends the victim a check larger than the amount agreed upon then instructs the victim to send the extra money to a third party for delivery fees.
Like the Nigerian scam, the check is a forgery and the victim is responsible for the entire check, including the money sent to the scam artist.
Police say an old lottery scam is getting new life in the form of e-mails. The victim receives notice of a big lottery win, usually from a foreign country. Often these e-mails will instruct victims to send someone a certain amount of money to cover taxes and administration costs. Police warn that if you have not entered a lottery, it is most likely a scam. No legitimate lottery will require you to send them money. Fees from a lottery win would come out of the winnings, not your pocket, police said
If you receive one of these e-mails, you should delete it immediately. According to police, "If is sounds too good to be true then it probably is a scam."
