CLEARLAKE >> With the holidays approaching the Clearlake Police Department (CPD) reminds the community to be mindful that Internet scammers will be out in full force to get their attention and money.
It”s just not for gifts. Recently a young person was scammed by a someone from out of state posing as a member of the military who was being transferred and needed to sell a vehicle — an opportunity too good to be true, according to CPD Sgt. Nick Bennett. After several emails and guarantees of delivery, several thousands of dollars were transferred to the seller. The result was there no vehicle and no seller that could be located or tracked.
During the next few weeks leading up to the holiday season and beyond, residents will be reporting they have been defrauded out of their money by the IRS calling for a payment of delinquent taxes (the IRS conducts business by mail, not telephone), utilities calling for payment or phone/power will be turned off (utility companies always send notices of delinquent accounts by mail well in advance) or some lottery calls with the good news that “You have won $$$$$ and all you have to do is send us $$$$$ to receive your prize.”
One does not need to pay out money to collect legitimate winnings.
Another scam that has been around for some time but people still fall for it is a check will appear in the mail which looks legitimate, Bennett stated. The sender requests the receiver to deposit the check and return a portion to them and keep the rest as winnings. Days later the check will not clear and the checking account is debited for the bad check that cannot be traced.
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
