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By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune October 27. 2014 5:02PM Police say Trail woman tried to open bogus accounts A Trail woman is suspected of attempting to open multiple bank accounts with stolen Social Security numbers before depositing fraudulent checks into them. Medford police reported Raquel Verdugo, 34, of the 700 block of Elk Creek Road, was arrested Saturday afternoon on four counts of negotiating a bad check, three counts of identity theft, one count of first-degree forgery and a count of attempted second-degree theft. She was booked in the Jackson County Jail but later released on her own recognizance, jail records show. Police first responded to Verdugo's alleged crimes Saturday after word she had opened a new bank account at the White City Wells Fargo and tried to deposit fraudulent checks in the account. The deposit request was denied, but police said Verdugo tried again, this time at a Medford Wells Fargo branch. She was denied again before her arrest. Medford police said she is also a suspect in a separate case in which she was alleged to have purchased more than $1,000 in merchandise using checks from a closed account. Law enforcement have seized Verdugo's vehicle and are in the process of getting a search warrant for it. It's not known where Verdugo got the personal information, but Detective Sgt. Brent Mak said it can be obtained from a variety of sources, including mailboxes, junk mail in the garbage can and online.  Mak said this kind of case frequently is perpetrated by people from outside of the area, making it difficult for police to investigate. "A lot of times it doesn't happen locally. Nine times out of 10, it happens out of state, because you can get the information online," Mak said. "(But) it definitely happens. We have people cashing stolen checks every day several times a day." This case comes on top of several recent counterfeit cash cases and an ongoing tide of scammers trying to steal money over the phone under the guise of a power company or government agency, Mak said, adding that scam-related activity seems to be at an all-time high. He said he has even received a scam call. It came in at 11:30 p.m. from a scammer posing as a computer technician.  "I've never seen the level, I've never seen the activity we have now," he said. Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141027/NEWS/141029679 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->