Local resident finds fraud, scams rampant

Another Odessa person was very nearly the victim of a scam recently, but fortunately for her she was cautious enough not to agree to giving out any money or trying to cash the fraudulent checks she was sent.

Mary Van Rijn of Odessa often rents rooms in her home to those in need of low-cost housing. A friend convinced her to put an ad on Craigslist when one of the rooms became available for rent. She was soon contacted via email by a young woman who claimed to be someone who traveled a lot in her capacity as a worker for the Red Cross assisting flood victims. She said she needed the room for work she would be doing in the northwest.

Van Rijn thought Odessa an unlikely spot to be based for such work but continued to converse via email with the woman, who claimed to be out of the country (in Ireland attending a funeral, or so she said).

Van Rijn then received two checks in the mail for $2,970 each and was told to cash the checks, pay the movers $1,800 when they arrived with the woman’s belongings, then go to Western Union and send the remainder to the woman after taking out some months’ worth of rent.

Van Rijn thought the checks looked authentic until she inspected them more carefully. One claimed to be drawn on “Bank of American” rather than Bank of America. The other was drawn on Wheatland Bank, so it was obvious that the scammers had done some homework on what was available in Odessa. Van Rijn took the checks to the bank and told bank employees the whole story. Both checks were determined by bank employees to be fraudulent.

The bank gave Van Rijn a publication from the Federal Trade Commission called “Giving the Bounce to Counterfeit Check Scams.” Anyone can request this information, and Van Rijn says that everyone should be aware of what kinds of scams are making the rounds at any given time.

The bottom line, which cannot be repeated often enough, is to never, ever wire money to strangers or anyone who claims to know you without first verifying that they are indeed who they say they are. Never cash checks for others who want you to send them the cash. If a situation makes you the least bit uncomfortable, walk away. Don’t let yourselves be victimized.

Van Rijn could just as easily have deposited the two checks and begun spending the money that didn’t really exist. Fortunately for her, she was cautious enough to start asking questions and saved herself a lot of headaches.