When checking your credit card billing, you notice a charge for $99.99 (or some other amount you do not recognize). When you check it out, it turns out that you were signed up for a (very bad if it exists at all) personal ID theft protection program. You don’t remember signing up for it ???   Well, you can be “scammed” into it several different ways.  1: by a “Phishing” e-mail or  2: something that came in the mail that you “DID NOT OPT OUT OF” !!  Call your credit card company “IMMEDIATELY” and get the charge removed and notify your State Attorney General’s Office as soon as you can and report it. Also, keep good records for future reference —   Sheriff Karl J. Dailey

Here is the general rule of thumb for any “Letter” or “E-Mail” you receive stating that you have won a LOTTERY  —  If you did not buy a ticket for a legitimate, well known lottery, YOU DID NOT WIN ANYTHING !!!!!  Any lottery letter dealing with a foreign country is a SCAM and the checks are forgeries !!  You can not win if you did not enter, even though they will try to convince you that you did. Like everything else, if it sounds too good to be true, it is !! And, when in doubt, check it out — Your local Law Enforcement will be glad to talk to you and answer any questions you may have regarding this and other suspicious letters and e-mail you may receive. — Sheriff Karl Dailey

You receive an e-mail  (or maybe a letter in the mail)  that tells you that “someone close to you” wants you dead !!!!  They claim they have already been paid and that “People” have been checking on you and they know where you live, Family info., etc.  Ready? Here it comes….. wait for it !!!!    Ta Da — You can avoid being killed by sending them $8,000.00 cash !!!  Then, when they receive the cash, they will meet with you and give you “Tape Recordings” of the phone conversations they had with the person who wanted you dead. They will give you the tape for another $7,000.00 cash…….. They tell you that then, they will not kill you and you can use the Tapes for whatever legal action you like… well, isn’t that swell of them !! ??  –  Don’t let these knuckleheads bully you. This is a SCAM of the lowest type !!!!  If you get one of these and you feel uncomfortable about it, please feel free to contact your local Law Enforcement and they will be glad to work with you —– Sheriff Karl Dailey

You receive a call from a person claiming to be a Jury Duty Commissioner (or something similar). They say something like,  ” You did not return your Jury Duty forms (paperwork, questionnaire, etc) and you need to appear for Jury Duty. You tell them that you “DID NOT” receive any paperwork and they ask you for your date of birth, social security number (and such) so they can check their database. They then tell you it was a mistake or it has been taken care of, etc.  - and now they have all they need to “STEAL YOUR IDENTITY”.  Courts rarely call about this sort of thing, and if they do they already know who you are and have all the necessary info. they need……… WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK IT OUT…..  don’t give your personal information to strangers who call you, for any reason !!!     Sheriff Karl Dailey

You will receive an E-Mail that will claim to be from a “Private Detective” (or something similar). They will not tell you who they are and will claim that they are “Monitoring” your phone calls - Internet traffic - etc. They will ask you if you want to know who is paying them to watch you. They will explain that they understand that “You do Not Believe” them. They want you to click on a link and check an “Archive”. They will give you some kind of password to the archive. This archive is supposed to show you a log of your calls or Internet traffic. By “clicking” on the link, you open the door to the bad guys to do all sorts of bad things to you. DO NOT FALL for this… just delete it and do not respond. The E-Mail you receive may be a little different, but the idea will be the same. Remember - WHEN IN DOUBT,CHECK IT OUT !!!!      Sheriff Karl Dailey 

You get an E-Mail that the IRS owes you money. The amount may vary, but my e-mail was for $109.25.  They want you to “Click” on the link and give them info. Please don’t click on the link !!!!    It’s a scam !!!  Just delete it or forward it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center ( find in the “link” section) …. Thanks — And be safe surfers !!!!    Sheriff K. Dailey

You receive a call that a package that needs to be delivered to you has been held up by US Customs and for a fee the package will be released and delivered. These pinheads have even told people that the Customs fees apply from State to State within the US. This is totally untrue !!!!  Again, they only want your personal and bank information so they can rob you !!!   They will do their best to convince you that you bought something that you DID NOT BUY !!!   Don’t be fooled… Demand information from them and they will hang up  — Sheriff Karl Dailey

You receive a phone call that you are eligible for a Medicare / Medicaid supplement from Medical Health Services. For a mere $499.00 you can have coverage for life and this will cover “everything” that Medicare/Medicaid does not cover. Sound too good to be true ???     IT IS !!   They will ask you for bank and personal information then CLEAN OUT YOUR ACCOUNT and steal your identity…. If you look around, there are many legitimate companies that offer supplemental insurance. Call them  —- Sheriff Karl J. Dailey

Old Scam… New Twist …  From Canada comes the Secret Customer / Shopper Scam. You will get a letter asking you to be a Secret Shopper or Customer. You will also receive a check for training and some expenses. The CHECK is a FORGERY. DO NOT CASH OR DEPOSIT THIS CHECK. They ask you to “Money-Gram or Western Union” a portion of the money back. If you do, you’ll be out the cash and be responsible to replace any loss to the bank. If you get any mail of this type or similar, please report it to your local Law Enforcement or Postal Inspector. —– Sheriff Karl Dailey

A business in this area received a “fax” from someone claiming to be from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The fax had a letterhead and appeared quite official. The fax basically said that if the business wanted to remain on the DOTs “procurement list” they needed to send information to the DOT. This request included “Bank Account” information and a signature. The information was faxed and a short time later an attempt was made to withdraw a fairly large sum of money from the victims business account and wire transfer it to ”Latvia”.  Fortunately the wire transfer failed and no money was lost. The victim must now change accounts and notify those who legitimately need the information. So, though no money was lost, the victim will spend a lot of time and aggravation straightening things out.

Please remember, financial institutions and Government agencies will not “blindly” send for this information by fax or E-Mail. WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK IT OUT! For more info. about these types of scams, feel free to contact your local Law Enforcement.  — Sheriff K. Dailey