Resident warns of mail scam

At first glance, it looked legitimate.

A USPS priority envelope Green River resident Linda Fitzgerald received contained a check for $994 made out to her name and a sheet of instructions for what appeared to be a secret shopper assignment. Fitzgerald said she had done some secret shopper work in the past, but the envelope and its contents didn’t involve anything she had signed up for.

At that point, the small details started to look suspicious. Fitzgerald said the amount of the check stood out to her as she never received such a large secret shopper check, but the check itself didn’t have a contact number for the bank issuing the check. The instructions also raised some red flags, specifically requesting the remaining amount after the secret shopping assignment, $814, be wired to an another person in Texas.

Fitzgerald said she contacted the Green River Police Department after realizing the envelope was a scam, but worries others may get duped by how professional the scam seemed.

“To me, it’s sophisticated enough to get someone,” she said.

Det. Luke Benson, public information officer for the GRPD said residents should be cautious anytime they receive unsolicited contact involving money. He said people should also be cautious if they’re asked to cash a check, keep some of the funds and send the rest to a third party. Benson said residents can check with the issuing bank to see if a check is legitimate or can contact the GRPD to look over what they received.

“We’d be more than happy to look at it before someone commits to a possible scam,” Benson said.

Other scams have been reported throughout the county. The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office issued a release Monday regarding a scam a Rock Springs woman was targeted with. According to the release, the woman was called by someone claiming to be with the sheriff’s office, identifying themselves as “Deputy Cook.”

The intended victim was then told a warrant for their arrest was issued for not reporting to jury duty and could be taken into custody at any time. The only thing to avoid arrest, the caller claimed, was to pay a $2,000 fee using a “green dot card” purchasable at retail stores.

The sheriff’s office reports these calls can sound authentic, with scammers providing false case numbers and the Sweetwater County Courthouse’s address in Green River.

“It’s all part of the scam, to make it look more convincing,” Lowell said in the press release.

 

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