Fraud over the Internet
Date: July 23, 2007Source: Zwire.Com
Hillsborough Township police are warning residents about several reports of attempted fraud over the Internet, in which victims received packages with checks in the mail, and e-mails requesting that they keep a designated amount of the money and send the rest to people overseas.
According to Lt. Bill Geary, a Hillsborough resident received a UPS package containing six VISA travelers checks, for $500 each, from the British Heart Foundation. He said she then received an accompanying e-mail that requested that she keep 10 percent of all the money and forward the balance to different people in Nigeria.
"There had been no previous contact (between her and the foundation)," Lt. Geary said.
In a related incident, he said, another resident began corresponding with a man in Great Britain who was interested in purchasing a table that he had offered on craigslist.com, a classified ad site. Lt. Geary said the table was being offered for $500.
The man contacted the police when the Great Britain resident sent a certified bank check for $2,999, asking that the balance, after the $500, be sent to another person in England.
"The check is now in evidence," Lt. Geary said.
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