FRAUD ALLERT: A resident of a hotel on the 600 block of Fellowship Road reported a fraud on July 31. The victim befriended a subject on a dating website who represented himself as a member of the US military serving overseas. He told the victim he was in need of $5000.00 to return to his residence in Nigeria from Afghanistan. The victim sent $5,000.00 via Western Union to locations in Nigeria and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The victim then received a return payment check from the unidentified suspect which was determined to be fraudulent. Residents are reminded: “Using a bank or a money transfer company to wire funds electronically is an easy and convenient way to send cash to someone. And when consumers wire money to people they know, the transaction typically takes place without a problem. But wiring money to strangers - in the U.S. but especially in another country - is risky because often they could be scam artists.”- FDIC consumer news. How can you protect yourself against wire fraud? • Never wire money to people you dont know, regardless of how convincing or enticing their story may be. • If youre being pressed to make a decision or send money fast, its probably a sign of a scam. Walk away from any offer from a stranger who asks you to deposit a check into your bank account and instructs you to wire any of that money to someone else, perhaps in another country. • Never give out your bank account or credit card numbers in response to an advertisement or an unsolicited call, text message or e-mail. • For more information, see guidance from the Federal Trade Commission at consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0090-using-money-transfer-services. And for information about new federal rules governing international wire transfers, see New Protections for Consumers Sending Money Abroad.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 17:02:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015