Killeen Police want you to be on the alert for Con Artists.

Police say more reports are coming in about several scams.

Many are coming at you over the phone, like the one where you get a phone call claiming a family member has been in a serious accident and you need to send money.  Another says that a family member is being held captive and you need to send money to get them released.  Police say these callers are telling people to send money to another country.

 

Police say you should also watch for letters, faxes, emails and telephone calls from other countries where you have been named an heir in a will, or your excellent status in the community enables them to contact you for investment purposes.    I am sure you have seen these, the letter will state that the person writing it is a high-ranking official in the government and there is a surplus in money and they need to put it in another bank outside of their country and for your cooperation they will give you several million dollars.  Yeah Right!

Another scam is someone claiming to represent a long lost relative of yours that has died and left you a large sum of money.

 

Other scams are Lottery scams, Check in the Mail scams and Secret Shopper scams.  You may get fraudulent checks and money orders in the mail with requests to deposit these into your bank account, but you must send a portion back through Western Union.  Once the fake checks are discovered the money comes out of your account!

You may get a call asking you to send money to fill out loan paperwork.  Or a call about a prize for a lottery you never entered, you won but you have to pay a service fee to get the money. Don’t believe it and don’t send them anything.

 

To protect yourself, here are some recommendations from the Killeen Police Department.

Call the family member immediately who is supposed to be injured or held hostage.

Never give out your personal information to include banking information over the phone.

Do not pay a fee in advance for any money you might have won or inherited.

Shred your personal banking statements and bills instead of just throwing them away.

Contact the police immediately if you think you are being scammed.

 

Remember if it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is!

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