The North Webster Police Department and Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department are warning citizens to be aware of a scam that has again surfaced in the county. North Webster Town Marshal Greg Church said he is currently investigating a check that was received by a local resident that is commonly used by scam artists. Criminals currently use a well-known process of sending a letter and large monetary check to a potential victim, often stating that they have won some type of lottery or sweepstakes. The suspected scammer will ask the victim to cash it and keep a substantial amount for themselves, while remitting the remaining amount in a money gram or other untraceable method. The victim cashes the check into their bank account, only to find later that it is fraudulent, but often only after sending personal funds that cannot be retrieved or cancelled. Church advised that these particular cases are virtually unsolvable from a law enforcement standpoint, but citizens continue to fall victim thinking that there is potentially “free money” available. Church also stated that citizens should check out the business prior to ever conducting a transaction and suggested four possible locations that can be located on the Internet: Federal Trade Commission, IC3/Internet Crime Complaint Center, Rip-off Report/ www.repoffreport.com, and the Better Business Bureau.
