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City detective warns of phone scams By BILL CHOY Ashland Daily Tidings "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.'' This famous saying holds especially true when one gets calls or e-mails promising riches - for a small fee. Unfortunately, millions of people in the United States get swindled out of their money in this fashion each year. Ashland is no exception. Late last month, an Ashland woman of retirement age lost $85 in a telemarketing scam, Ashland police Detective Brent Jones said. The woman, who did not want to be identified, received a phone call telling her she won $50,000 in a Reader's Digest Sweepstakes. Having entered the contest numerous times over the years, the woman thought the call was legitimate, Jones said. The caller told her she needed to wire $85 to Orlando, Fla., to pay for state income taxes. The woman quickly wired the money to Florida. The next day, another caller told her the previous man had given her the wrong amount and she needed to send an additional $100 to them. That's when she knew she had been ripped off, Jones said. The woman was embarrassed at first, but told police because she did not want the same thing to happen to others, Jones said. "People think that stuff happens somewhere else, but it does happen here,'' he said. Jones said Ashland police receive an average of about one call a month from people who had been duped, he said. While that number is probably higher, most people are too embarrassed to report it, Jones said. The majority of those ripped off in these scams are older individuals, Jones said. "They are the ones most susceptible to it,'' he said. "It's a generational thing. They're more trusting than the current generation of skeptics.'' Jones said if the scam occurred out of the country there's not much state and federal authorities can do. If the scam artist is based in the United States, state and federal officials can pursue the case if the monetary amount is deemed substantial enough to warrant an investigation. Legitimate prize representatives will not ask for money to be directly sent to them, Jones said. Any fees or taxes should be subtracted from the amount of the winnings, and the company should take care of those deductions before mailing a check, he said. Beware of contests that promise a prize if an advance purchase is made; the contest is most likely not legitimate. Jones cautions people to remember that legitimate contests will not require a purchase to qualify for a prize. For more information, or to report a contest scam, call Detective Brent Jones at 482-5211. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -