Acushnet Police Department

Scams and Fraud

Recently the Acushnet Police Department has taken several reports of individuals being scammed out of money or victims of fraud. The losses that have occurred to these individuals have amounted into the thousands. It will be our attempt to utilize this web page to make our citizens aware of what they can do to avoid becoming involved in a scam. If you were a victim of a scam please call the stations business line at 508-998-0240 and report the incident. Below is some helpful information.

Recognizing scams

Most scams involve one or more of the following:

Inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
Western Union, Money Gram, cashier's check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee"
Inability or refusal to meet face-to-face before commencing transaction

Examples of Scams

1. Distant person offers a genuine-looking (but fake) cashier's check

you receive an email (examples below) offering to buy your item, or rent your apartment, sight unseen.
cashier's check is offered for your sale item, as a deposit for an apartment, or for just about anything else of value.
value of cashier's check often far exceeds your item - scammer offers to "trust" you, and asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service
banks will often cash these fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR, including criminal prosecution in some cases!
scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc)

2. Someone requests wire service payment via Western Union or MoneyGram :

Often claim that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he can withdraw your money - this is FALSE, once you've wired money, it is GONE.
Scam "bait" items include laptops, plasma TVs, cell phones, tickets - but could be almost anything
common countries currently include: Nigeria, Romania, Ukraine, Spain, UK, Italy, Netherlands - but could be anywhere
deal often seems too good to be true

3. Distant person offers to send you a money order and then have you wire money:

this is ALWAYS a scam, in our experience - the cashier's check is FAKE
sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not
scammer often asks for your name, address, etc for printing on the fake check
deal often seems too good to be true

4. Distant seller suggests use of an online escrow service.

most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT, operated by scammers
for more info, do a google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow fraud"

5. Distant seller asks for a partial payment upfront, after which he will ship goods

he says he trusts you with the partial payment
he may say he has already shipped the goods
deal often sounds too good to be true

6. Foreign company offers you a job receiving payments from customers, then wiring funds

foreign company may claim it is unable to receive payments from its customers directly
you are typically offered a percentage of payments received
this kind of "position" may be posted as a job, or offered to you via email

Who should I notify about fraud or scam attempts?

FTC (Federal Trade Commission) toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
FTC online complaint form (www.ftc.gov)
Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501
Internet Fraud Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov/)

Non-emergency number for your local police department

Other Resources

U.S. Postal Service Warning - Scambusters www.fakechecks.org

Always remember that if it seems to good to be true, it most likely is. Finally, most of the incidents that we have encountered have made senior citizens and the elderly the victims of this crime. Please look out for family members that could be possible victims of internet/mail scams and fraud.

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