MONROE - Fraud and identity theft is on the rise across the county and nationwide, but Monroe's police chief says there is not much the police can do about the problem.
Over the past couple of months, there have been at least six instances of fraud reported to police. Chief Fred Kelley said it has become an emerging crime problem.
"If the victim lives in our community, we will deal with it, but sometimes we get calls from across the country," he said.
For example, a person called the police from Oakland, Calif. and said their transaction over the internet listed Monroe as the address of the business. Police checked with the business and confirmed there was no order sent to them.
Kelley said the police can report fraud to federal authorities, but if the scam originates outside of the country there isn't much anyone can do.
Scams and fraud are certainly not new: the Spanish Prisoner scam - which involved asking participants to help smuggle someone wealthy out of prison by offering cash -dates back to the 19th century. Likewise, chain letters and Nigerian letter scams have all been prevalent for many years. But with the proliferation of internet-based communication and shopping, the threat is now more anonymous.
Several of the recent local complaints coming to the police involved a gas company calling citizens and telling them their gas was about to be shut off. Kelley said police investigated, but the utility reported it was not placing the calls.
"The elderly seem to be a targeted audience and the Hispanic community," Kelley said.
Most of these scams can be avoided by always refraining from giving out personal information to untrustworthy websites. Some other tips to avoid scams:
n Credit checks available online can show you if there have been unwanted transactions made.
n Websites such as scamvoid.com can tell you if a URL is safe and where the business is located.
n Monitor attachments in emails and don't open suspicious looking ones.
n Only accept friends you actually know on social networking sites.
Police received a report in the middle of January that a 57-year-old man claimed to have a relationship with a person over Facebook. He sent this person checks in order for the person to afford moving to Monroe; however when the checks were not cashed, the man became wary and canceled the checks.
Kelley advised people follow the old adage when it comes to offers that show up electronically.
"It's an old cliché, but if it looks too good to be true, it probably is," Kelley said.
Over the past couple of months, there have been at least six instances of fraud reported to police. Chief Fred Kelley said it has become an emerging crime problem.
"If the victim lives in our community, we will deal with it, but sometimes we get calls from across the country," he said.
For example, a person called the police from Oakland, Calif. and said their transaction over the internet listed Monroe as the address of the business. Police checked with the business and confirmed there was no order sent to them.
Kelley said the police can report fraud to federal authorities, but if the scam originates outside of the country there isn't much anyone can do.
Scams and fraud are certainly not new: the Spanish Prisoner scam - which involved asking participants to help smuggle someone wealthy out of prison by offering cash -dates back to the 19th century. Likewise, chain letters and Nigerian letter scams have all been prevalent for many years. But with the proliferation of internet-based communication and shopping, the threat is now more anonymous.
Several of the recent local complaints coming to the police involved a gas company calling citizens and telling them their gas was about to be shut off. Kelley said police investigated, but the utility reported it was not placing the calls.
"The elderly seem to be a targeted audience and the Hispanic community," Kelley said.
Most of these scams can be avoided by always refraining from giving out personal information to untrustworthy websites. Some other tips to avoid scams:
n Credit checks available online can show you if there have been unwanted transactions made.
n Websites such as scamvoid.com can tell you if a URL is safe and where the business is located.
n Monitor attachments in emails and don't open suspicious looking ones.
n Only accept friends you actually know on social networking sites.
Police received a report in the middle of January that a 57-year-old man claimed to have a relationship with a person over Facebook. He sent this person checks in order for the person to afford moving to Monroe; however when the checks were not cashed, the man became wary and canceled the checks.
Kelley advised people follow the old adage when it comes to offers that show up electronically.
"It's an old cliché, but if it looks too good to be true, it probably is," Kelley said.