Check scam artists targeting Sailors

If you've received a letter like this, you are not alone. The Kingsland Police Department reported 13 cases of letters like this received by citizens in the last two months. According to Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Agent Tim Picard, the scam artists are very smart and know how to prey on everyone's dreams of winning big money.

"With the lottery systems in place in almost every state, people believe they can win big sums of money," he said. "You have a better chance of getting struck by lightening in the same place five times than winning the lottery. The probability of you winning $50,000 by receiving a check through the mail is very unlikely."

The scam began with e-mails sent to random people with e-mail accounts. When people see something like this pop up on incoming mail, they can just delete the message, so the scam artists started sending out letters telling customers of their winnings. The check sent is forged, but looks like a real check, some banks can't tell the difference. Once the letter is received, the customer is instructed to go to the bank and cash an assistance check to help pay for the tax, administrative expenses and international clearance fees involved, after which the winnings (anywhere from $50,000-$250,000) shall be released. The check enclosed is usually around $2,500, which the person is to deposit in their bank account and cash and wire the money Western Union to a certain location. When the bank finds out the check is fraudulent, the person you sent the money has the cash in hand and the site is closed down. According to Picard, there in not much NCIS can do when the scam has gone this far.

"The victims believe they are going to get a great deal of money down the road when in reality it doesn't exist. The perpetrators of these scams know if you send something Western Union, they pick up that money and they are out of there," he said. "The probability of catching these scam artists and recovering some of the money is low, because they move so fast. It takes sometimes years to track down these very intelligent criminals."

Education about the scams is the best protection that NCIS can provide. Young Sailors are the age group that falls more often for the scams.

According to Picard, with many young Sailors being away from home for the first time, making decisions for themselves, the lure of big money is very enticing.

"Usually the ones who fall for this temptation are young Sailors. Most are on their own for the first time and have not been educated about certain scams that are out there," he said. "About all we can do is educate people about this problem. We are putting out the word to commands and banks are putting out information during indoctrination training. If you have a doubt regarding correspondence that promises you money you need to report it to your command or NCIS. Don't fall prey to theses scams."