Early Chief of Police David Mercer warns the public, through the following press release, of several scams being reported in the area and warns citizens to be cautious.
Mercer stated in the release:
Scams are always a danger for people to be aware of, but recently we have received several calls to the Early Police Department from residents who were about to be victims of scams.
A scam artist will have an answer for everything when talking to you – they will put a thought in your head of a prize, usually money that is almost irresistible; but everyone needs to keep telling themselves that old saying “if it sounds too good to be true then it is.” A scam artist is a smooth talker and is a very skillful, high pressure salesperson. Basically they have 5 tricks that will cause you to make a decision against your better judgment.
First they will try to give you something for nothing, and then they will make you like them because they are “doing you a favor.” The salesman will tell you it’s now or never, act now or this deal is gone. When you do this deal, you will be rich and you will have no worries for the rest of your life, then he will tell you how he has helped other people and changed their lives too. The bottom line is he will gain your trust and the age old temptation of more money will be knocking hard on your door.
Once the scam artist has gained your trust he will literally dangle some bait in front of you. They will start wanting some personal information because you’re about to get this large sum of money and they want to make it “legal” so the IRS is notified with your identifying information, when in fact they will use your identification for themselves causing you to be a victim of identity theft too.
The artist will want you to pay a fee; sometimes they will say it’s a processing fee for the IRS, a shipping fee or inheritance fee.
Then they will need you to wire the money or send it airborne instead of the USPS mail. The scam artist doesn’t want to use the USPS mail service so they can avoid the stiff federal penalties of mail fraud.
If you feel like it’s a legitimate deal or you just can’t say no to it, talk to some friends, talk to your pastor, talk to your bank, call the police department or call the attorney general’s office (800-252-8011) and let them hear the details. Many, many people loose lots of hard earned money that they cannot afford to lose because of scam artist.
If you have become a victim of a scam, unfortunately, the chances of getting your money back are very slim. If you did sign a contract, that will put you at a serious disadvantage. Stop all contact with the scammers, then beware that you may be contacted by individuals claiming to be a scam recovery group; they may want you to believe they are working with government agencies and they want you to help them catch the scammers.
Do not participate in these scams. Contact the police and file a police report. If you are not dealing with a uniformed officer of an agency that you can see their identification, then avoid any contact with them.
There are many scams and frauds going around the area right now. If you have become a victim of a scam contact your local police; if you want to learn more about scams log into the Attorney General of Texas website under consumer protection.
