Attorney General Warns Of Scam

Scam artists are always trying to design new ways to defraud people out of their hard-earned money. Often times the scam isn’t brand new but instead has a new lure to bait new victims. To the careful consumer, however, there are always tell-tale signs of a scam, one of which involves wiring money. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued this consumer alert to warn consumers about a real estate scam and to generally warn Arkansans about requests to wire money.

“Requests to wire money for fraudulent purposes come in many forms, from employment offers to lottery winning notifications to this new scheme about real estate,” said McDaniel. “But when a consumer wires money, it’s not only hard to track down, it’s nearly impossible to get the money back to its rightful owner,” said Mc-Daniel.

Recently the Public Protection Department of the Attorney General’s Office learned that scam artists had appropriated photos of actual homes listed for sale in the Little Rock area and used those photos in “For Rent” listings on popular real estate Web sites. However, the homes picturedin the listings were not for rent. Interested renters were asked to wire the first and last month’s rent to the property “owner” and if they did so they never heard from the “landlord” again.

To avoid falling for this scam utilizing wire transfers, heed the following tips:

◊ Never wire transfer funds to an unknown agent or person.

◊ Sometimes fake checks are used to solicit wire transfers. If you receive an unexpected check in a substantial amount in the mail, your best bet is to throw it away. If you respond to the offer you will be asked to deposit the check and wire a lesser sum to cover “taxes” or “fees”. Only after the money is gone will you learn that the check is fake.

◊ Exercise caution when evaluating an employment opportunity, especially if the employer asks you to wire money in advance for supplies, taxes, fees, etc.

◊ Never wire any money to claim a prize. If you have to pay, you didn’t win.

For more information or to file a complaint, contact the Public Protection Department of the Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-482-8982.