When local resident Sue Bowling went to her mailbox this past week, she was a little surprised with the contents inside.
“I received a letter in the mail stating that I had won $200,000 and there was a check in the amount of $1,980,” Bowling stated via e-mail to the Daily Sun.
Bowling, who was unable to be reached by phone Tuesday, went to her bank and verified that the check was real. She did not deposit it or try to cash it.
Corsicana Police Sgt. Darrell Waller said scams such as these have been occurring more and more frequently.
“The bottom line is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Waller said.
Waller said a lot of people get greedy and fall prey to these types of scam artists.
Fortunately, Bowling went home and did some research on the Internet and found out this was indeed a scam.
“They hope you’ll cash the check and Western Union them the $1,850 for handling and insurance charges. Then the check bounces and you are in the hole. The check is real, but stolen,” she said.
Bowling went so far as to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report this and wanted to get the word out to local residents that this type of scam could happen to them.
Waller suggests calling the postmaster when it comes to money in the mail. He also urges residents to not deposit any checks that come in the mail.
“Anytime they ask for cash up front before releasing funds, it is a scam,” he said.
A lot of scam artists use the mail, some use the phone and others the Internet.
One of the problems law enforcement officials run into in prosecuting scam artists is finding the person.
“A lot of times they are in another state or even in another country, so it is hard to prosecute and build a case against them,” Waller said. “It is almost impossible to trace them.”
Waller said the postmaster and police department are the places to report fraud.
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AJ Narasimhan may be contacted via e-mail at ajn@corsicanadailysun.com
