Police Warn Of Costly Scams

[Wayne]

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/Police ... 93765.html

Fraudulent offers can come in a variety of ways - many originating from foreign countries - but none of the promises ever come true.

State Police investigator Andrew Gayeski says often times people fall victim to internet, phone or mail scams that usually involve fake checks or foreign lottery notifications, or some variation of the two, because they are too trusting.

"Most people are embarrassed that they were scammed and they don't want to draw attention to themselves and they just don't report it," said Gayeski.

The latest scam occurred last week and cost a local victim $2,500.

They thought they were buying a farm tractor online, but found out when they wired the money, there never was a tractor to begin with.

"They were talking to one person in one state. They were instructed to wire the money to another state and the John Deere tractor was going to be shipped for free shipping from a third state," said Gayeski.

Another case Gayeski investigated involved a local individual who thought he was purchasing "a dream car" off E-Bay, when it actually was a fraudulent copycat site.

The victim's bank account was drained of thousands of dollars.

Gayeski says there are danger signs that consumers should look for including checks or money orders that ask you to send money somewhere in return.

If you've lost money after being scammed, contact police as soon as possible.

7 News tried to interview some scam victims, but most declined primarily because of the embarrassment of falling prey to the schemes.

Meanwhile, one of the latest scams involves pre-paid debit cards that are bought and then sent by the victim to a forwarding address.