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Circulating Email Scam Mimics Debt Collector Notice
A recent circulating email scam looks alarmingly similar to a legitimate debt collector's notice.
Reporter: Micah T. Williams, KWTX Staff WriterEmail Address: micah.williams@kwtx.com |
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WACO (November 3, 2009)-There is another scam circulating in Cyberville and this time it looks alarmingly similar to debt collection notices sent out by legitimate agencies.
The email has an attached PDF document that appears to be from a collection agency based in Columbia, Md.
The wording in the document appears similar to that of any other collection notice and the scammer has even added the typical closing line:
"THIS COMMUNICATION IS FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR. THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED SOLELY FOR THAT PURPOSE."
There are however several red flags in the letter; primarily, the letter does not reference a specific account or list why the monies are allegedly owed, only that it is a debt settlement.
The sender also does not reference any specific recipient from whom the alleged debt is owed.
Probably the biggest red flag, police say, is the letter asks the recipient to submit a payment by credit card or electronic check to a linked Paypal account.
Waco Police Sgt Melvin Roseborough said Tuesday morning that legitimate bill collectors do not solicit payment through email.
"Banks will usually send you an email, if you request one, that says 'Your online statement is ready,'" Roseborough told News 10.
Because online scams are so typical these days, Roseborough says the best thing to do is "just delete the email and go on about your day."
While Waco Police Department does have an Internet Crimes Division, Roseborough advises that if someone were to fall victim to an email or online scam, they should contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation because police departments generally cannot investigate beyond their jurisdictional boundaries.
The FBI has forged a partnership with the National White Collar Crime Center and the Bureau of Justice Assistance to form the Internet Crimes Complaint Center.
Latest Comments
a lot of law enforcement agencies don't have the resources to take care of these types of incidents. you can report these email addresses on blogs to help warn other people about them. suspectedscammers.com is a good site for reporting email addresses of fraudsters too.
What happened to Waco PD Internet Crimes Taskforce? I thought we had one say 5 years ago!
I would assume that someone in law enforcement has shutdown that PayPal account. In the future, I would recommend you not give the fraudulent PayPal internet account address in your examples. Peoples' curisosity will get the best of them.
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