CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
The Federal Trade Commission has designated March 2-8 as National Consumer Protection Week in an effort to make Airmen and everyone else aware of fraud.
"There are a lot of folks out there looking to make extra money, and the ones who need it the most, junior Airmen, seem to get hit the hardest," said Inspector Tom Gasser, United States Postal Inspection Service, Charlotte Division.
Inspector Gasser, who is also a lieutenant commander in the Coast Guard Reserve, is promoting fraud awareness because he said he wants to "make sure military members are protected as much as everyone else is."
Fraud awareness is important for Airmen so they don't fall for common scams such as:
· foreign business offers that have pretend businesspeople and government officials promise people they'll make a lot of money. However, real companies and businesspeople don't contact total strangers with offers.
· love losses when people meet others online and promise to come to the U.S. after the individual cashes a fake check and sends money back to them.
· overpayments by check or money order for something an individual may have advertised. The person claims it was a mistake and asks for the money to be returned.
· rental schemes where people claim they are moving out of the area and send a check to cover shipping costs, but then they claim to have unexpected expenses and ask for some money to be sent back.
· sudden riches where people are notified that they won a foreign lottery or sweepstakes when, in reality, it is illegal to buy or sell tickets across the U.S. border, and a real notification would come by certified mail.
· work-at-home organizations that promise easy money, but unlike official businesses, they ask people to help process their payments.
"About a year-and-a-half to two years ago, there was an Airman who cashed fake money orders he received from someone overseas," said Inspector Gasser. "He wired about $10,000 overseas to that person and fell prey to a scam. Unfortunately, he was out the $10,000 and had to pay it all back. Something like that is really hard on military members who don't necessarily make a whole lot of money."
The reason people fall victim to scams like fake checks so easily is because most counterfeits aren't discovered right away - it may even take weeks or months. It isn't the bank's job to determine if a check is valid; their job is to process it. Then when the counterfeit is discovered, the victim has to pack back the money.
The victim is at a loss because the source of the counterfeit check is usually overseas. The victim has to pay back the money because the U.S. government can't punish a source in a foreign country; however, they can report it to the foreign government.
According to the National Consumers League, victims lost an average of $3,000 to $4,000. The best way to prevent becoming a victim is to report a suspicious payment or a payment that wasn't deserved to law enforcement agencies.
"I once heard somebody say that is it seems too good to be true, it's probably too good to be legal," said Inspector Gasser.
To learn more about common consumer scams, visit www.fakechecks.org.