Headlines worldwide are warning the public about numerous scams going on at any given time. One common theme for many scams is when the scammer accidentally sends someone too much money for a product or service via check and then asks that person to make sure they have enough money in their account to cover the entire check so they can deposit it, keep their part of the money for their product or service, and then send a money order or money gram for the remainder or the “over-payment” back to the scammer or a third party person.
Scammers recently tried this type of scam on a Middlesboro, Kentucky, resident who is an independent Avon sales representative.
A “customer” from Illinois purchased just over $100 worth of Avon products from the Middlesboro representative in June. Payment was received as a check in the mail. The check was from a business account and in the amount of almost $2,000. The customer sent an email to the Avon representative claiming her brother-in-law had been in the hospital on life support and due to the family emergency the check was mistakenly written in that amount in order to pay for the Avon as well as a photographer from California who was supposed to travel to Illinois to photograph the customer’s daughter.
The customer sent extensive instructions to the Avon representative as to how to send the money-gram for the over-payment directly to the photographer in California so she could book her flight immediately to come to Illinois in addition to purchase the necessary supplies for the photo shoot.
When the Avon representative did not immediately reply, the customer emailed again requesting the money-gram transfer details after first expressing pleasantries to the representative.
The representative took her information to local authorities to alert them of the scam.
Authorities caution the public to be on constant alert for possible scams and to err on the side of caution at all times.
If you think you are being the target of a scam, alert local authorities.
Reach Reina P. Cunningham at 606-302-9091 or on Twitter @ReinaDailyNews