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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend October 11, 2006 ID theft scam spurs fraud alert Callers are fishing for people's Social Security numbers, sheriff says By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune The Jackson County Sheriff's Department has issued a warning about an identity theft scheme in which people claiming to work for the federal court system demand personal information. A fraud alert prepared by sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan warns that the callers identify themselves as U.S. court employees, then tell people that they have been selected for jury duty or that a warrant has been issued for their arrest because they failed to appear for jury duty. The callers ask people to verify names and Social Security numbers, then ask for credit card numbers. If the request is refused, the callers threaten fines or arrest, Fagan said. "The nature of this was sinister because it sounded reasonable to ask people to serve their civic duty of jury duty and for this information," he said. "They really create the illusion of this being official." He reiterated, however, that official notification about jury duty comes in the mail and personal information isn't requested. Advertisement Fagan said the sheriff's department got about half a dozen reports of the scam last month and suspects that other people also received the suspicious calls. He advised anyone who has been contacted and has given out personal information to monitor account statements and credit reports carefully. If any unauthorized charges are made, report the theft to local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission at (877)438-4338 or www.consumer.gov/idtheft . Also contact a credit bureau and request a fraud alert be placed on your credit history, he said. The fraud alert was first sent out through a network of law enforcement and financial institutions called the Southern Oregon Fraud and Security Team, or SO-FAST, that proactively coordinates information on scams, schemes and robberies, Fagan said. The team has helped educate tellers about a common scam involving counterfeit money orders or cashier's checks, he said. The scammers contact people selling things online or in newspaper classified ads and offer to send a check for far more than the asking price so the sellers can arrange shipping, then send back the excess money. That was the deal offered to Diane Garcia of Medford when she advertised an antique table for sale for $300 last month. The day after her ad ran, she got a call on a relay service that assists deaf people on telephone calls from a man who wanted to buy her table. She and the potential buyer took up communicating via e-mail. His messages had poor spelling and grammar and she thought it was strange that he didn't want to come see the table, but she chalked it up to his disability. He promised to send a cashier's check, then sent an e-mail saying that his first check had been lost, so he would send her another for a larger amount. He asked her to deposit the check immediately and send the amount above her price to a shipping company in Stockholm, Sweden, via Western Union. "I thought that couldn't be right," she said. "It must be a joke." She replied to his e-mail that she hadn't got the check and wouldn't sell to him after all. Then, last week, an air mail envelope from Sweden with a $2,500 check from JP Morgan Chase bank arrived. A friend pointed to an Internet site cautioning people about the scam, and a neighbor said she had been targeted by just such a deal when she advertised a horse for sale in the Mail Tribune, Garcia said. "It was believable right to the end, because he never asked me for money until the end," she said. She didn't fall for the ploy and didn't notify police because she didn't lose anything, but she wanted to share her story. "I had never heard of this before and there are probably a lot of people who don't realize what can happen," Garcia said. Earlier this summer SO-FAST sent a message about scammers from Nigeria tapping classified ads in Oregon papers. Salem police investigated a case in which someone placed several ads offering Yorkshire terrier puppies for sale in the McMinville News-Register. The ads only listed an e-mail address, no phone number. When a family contacted the seller, he said the puppy was with him while he traveled on business in Nigeria and he would ship the pup when the buyer wired money for the dog and shipping. The family contacted police and the newspaper pulled the ad, Salem police said, noting that the scheme sent up plenty of red flags that the newspaper and potential buyer spotted, thus averting a loss. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485 or at [email protected] Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Texas Electric Choice Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com