A recent fortscott.biz advertisement for a driver almost wrested money from a scam victim.
However, a trained teller at Landmark Bank stopped the transaction.
“This was a typical refund scam,” Gregg Motley, Southeast Kansas Regional Manager of Landmark Bank, said. “The victim replied to the ad and a $6,000 check was sent to the person who responded. The check was from San Diego, from a Texas company, on a Colorado bank. The next day the person was asked to send him $2,000 to secure a rental car for the person to drive.”
The Landmark Teller Supervisor Kalia Lamb, caught the suspicious transaction, Motley said.
“The teller prohibited him taking the $2,000 out,” Motley said. This was to see first if the $6,000 check was legitimate. “We spend time training our employees on scams,” he said.
“We got the check back, it did bounce,” Motley said.
His bank always reports scams to federal authorities.
When the advertiser wasn’t willing to provide additional information, his payment was refunded by fortscott.biz.
The ad was deleted and his contact information was removed from the fortscott.biz Facebook post.
“Refund scams are worth billions of dollars in the U.S.,” Motley said.
“It’s good to get the word out about the scam,” said Fort Scott Chief of Police Jason Pickert. “To be aware this happened.”
Chief Pickert said he understood fortscott.biz’s position.
“You can’t vet everyone who purchases an ad,” Pickert said.
Romance Scams
The worst cases are romance scams, Motley said.
This is where people meet online and a relationship develops.
The victim is asked to send a large sum of money, say $2,000, so that, for example, the romantic interest can purchase an airline ticket to come and see the victim.
“We deal with it every week,” Motley said. “It’s very hurtful to people because emotions are involved.”
I was recently scammed by an ad in Fort Scott Biz as well. It was an ad asking for a PT driver 2 days a week. I sent an email asking about what days as I assumed it was medical drive which I do all the time. I received an email back which to me was obviously a scam but I can see where it may be dangerous for someone. I can send you a copy of the email if you wish. It might wise to figure out a way to be more selective of accepted ads?
Sue, please send the email to Gregg Motley at [email protected]. He will send to authorities, he said.
Good job, Kalia. I have dealt with Kalia and the other tellers on many transactions. They are all very good at what they do. I am glad to know they are being trained to catch such scams.