By Sasha L. Lightbourne
Corporal 2536 Ian McQueen. Assistant Superintendent of Police Michael Moxey and Corporal 226 Donovan Martin yesterday sought to make the public aware of new scams being used to illegally acquire funds. (Photo/Torrell Glinton)
There has been a considerable rise in the number of fraud cases, according to police. In fact, in the last six months unsuspecting Bahamians have been swindled out of more than $200,000 in four new scams.
In those six months, 180 matters have been reported to the Commercial Crimes Department.
The majority of the crimes took place in March.
Head of the Commercial Crimes Department at the Central Detective Unit (CDU), Assistant Superintendent of Police, Michael Moxey, told the media that one of the new scams involves persons scouring newspaper advertisements for potential employment.
"This new trend is of great concern to us. What we have found happening as of late is that individuals advertise in one of the dailies for a handyman or maid," he explained at a press conference held yesterday.
"[Job seekers] would unknowingly apply for these jobs and in doing so the person would tell them that they have interest elsewhere and are unable to actually be in a position to pay them unless they can have their bank account information. The person applying for the job would in some instances open up a new bank account or give the person, who they have never met, their existing bank account information."
He said the con artists later use the bank information in a fraudulent manner.
Woman Detective Sergeant 2329 Debra Thompson, outlined details of another trend police have noticed with vehicles appearing for sale in the newspaper.
"An ad is placed in the newspaper and victims contact the number listed and speak to someone who tells them that the vehicle in the paper is no longer available," she said.
"The person then tells the victim that they are currently in the United States at an auction site and that there is a similar vehicle fitting the same description in the ad. If the person is interested, the criminal would prompt the person to immediately deposit funds into a bank account."
She said once the person has deposited the money, very rarely do they ever hear from the con artist again.
Sgt. Thompson said if individuals find themselves in any of these situations they should try to arrange a face-to-face meeting with the seller.
"If the story sounds to good to be true, more than likely it’s a scam," she said.
ASP Moxey said that particular scam has netted more than $40,000.
Corporal 226 Donovan Martin also highlighted another scam involving cheques that has netted more than $90,000 for the first half of the year.
"Members of the public are being approached by persons who are asking them to supply them with their ATM card and pin number so they can make some fast money," he explained.
"Once the information is given to the person, fraudulent cheques are generated and then deposited to these persons accounts. Once the cheque is cleared, the funds are withdrawn."
He advised bankers to play close attention to cheques before processing them and warned members of the public not to give out their ATM cards and pin numbers.
"If it is discovered that you are involved then you will be held accountable at the end of the day," Corp. Martin said.
"So far, 10 to15 people have been put before the court for this type of scam."
According to Corporal 2536 Ian McQueen, police have also uncovered a new credit card scam known as "skimming."
"Skimming involves the theft of a cardholder’s information that is stored electronically in the magnetic strip located on the back of the card," he said.
"This information is then transferred to a blank card. Skimming is typically an inside job involving a dishonest employee of a business establishment. A small electronic device known as a skimmer, which can vary in size and appearance, is used to store the card information."
Corp. McQueen explained that the scam usually occurs when the employee has possession of a credit card and it is out of the customer’s view. He also explained that people then use these fraudulent cards to purchase a variety of goods such as jewelry, alcohol, clothing, wholesale groceries and fuel.
"We would like to advise the public to be cautious with their credit cards," he said.
"They should always keep their cards in view when paying and never leave the credit card receipt lying around. Merchants should also ensure that the photo identification presented matches up with the person presenting the card."
Police said more than $70,000 was found in misappropriated funds in connection with skimming.
So far, 40 people have been taken to court in connection with some of these scams.
0 comments:
Post a Comment