DATE: Monday, July 14, 2014
SUBJECT: Scam: New Job Offer
RELEASE NUMBER: 2014-NR-061
CONTACT: Lt. Noah Robinson
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Dave Wedding
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two cases of fraud after receiving separate complaints regarding a confidence scam involving reloadable money cards. The first victim lost over 2,800 dollars and the second victim lost nearly 1,500 dollars.
Both scams were similar in that they hinged on the victim believing they had been selected for new employment after receiving an email. Both victims were sent business checks, which they were instructed to deposit. They were given instructions to use the money to purchase reloadable cash cards, the numbers of which were to be provided to the “employer” in order to “verify” the purchases of the cash cards were made. Once the card numbers were obtained by the “employer”, the cards were emptied of cash. The original checks the victims deposited failed to clear, leaving each victim responsible for the amount withdrawn to purchase the reloadable cash cards.
Sheriff Dave Wedding stated, “Confidence scams such as this contain two essential ingredients: the temptation of easy money (which clouds the victim’s judgment) and an apparent pay-off (usually in the form of a fake payment or ‘show money’). Sheriff Wedding added, “The warning signs are always present, but are ignored at the prospect of making quick cash.”
The Sheriff’s Office is still gathering information on these scams and will pursue all available avenues of investigation.
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