FLINT – Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton wants area residents to be extra vigilant during the holiday season to protect themselves from various scams and crimes.
Package thefts from the front porch, “too good tobe true” offers, fake checks tied to phony lotteries and questionable charitable solicitations are just some of the many types of scams and crimes that individuals can fall victim to.
“Con artists and thieves are active year-round, but the holiday season is a prime time for them to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals who may be looking to give generously to others in the spirit of the season or find themselves so busy that they’re not as attentive as they normally would be,” said Leyton.
With so many people shopping online with home deliveries, Leyton says one of the most common crimes is front porch thefts where “porch pirates” simply look for delivered packages sitting outside on someone’s front porch and they walk up, grab the package and flee.
Leyton said there are several things people can do to lessen the risk of such thefts including use of relatively inexpensive video doorbells and installing other security cameras that can give you live remote video feed of your property from your phone and record activity; establish a secure or less visible location at your house for deliveries to be made; requesting signature confirmation at delivery; or even using a friendly neighbor’s address
If you are not going to be home during delivery, Leyton also advises consumers to track their online orders on the merchant’s website and set up delivery alerts through texts or email, so you’ll know when your
packages are being delivered.
Other common scams are unsolicited phone calls and text messages from someone claiming you’ve won a special prize or lottery, or that you may have a government refund waiting for you.
Leyton said he recently received a complaint from a Grand Blanc resident who received what appeared to be a legitimate award letter from Publisher’s Clearing House. It also included what appeared to be an authentic check that the letter indicated was a sponsor check to help pay the “winner’s” taxes and handling and processing fees. The letter warned that the recipient must, pursuant to some law, keep the award confidential until the prize money is presented and that they were not to deposit the enclosed check until after speaking directly with their assigned claim agent, as listed in the letter.
Fortunately, this Grand Blanc resident was wise and did not call any number, or person listed in the letter- and did not attempt to deposit what is clearly a fraudulent check. Otherwise, the scammers no doubt would have taken her for all they could.
The key message Leyton wants you to remember in these situations is, “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.” Don’t walk away from these scams, run!
Charitable organizations often pull at both your heartstrings and your purse strings to get donations. Most solicitations are legitimate, and charities do important work in our communities and are worthy of your financial support. But it shouldn’t surprise you that there are a lot of fraudsters out there whose only purpose seems to be lining the pockets of those running the charity. So, take the time to know who you are giving to. If it’s an unfamiliar organization, do some research online. Find out where they are located and read reviews of their work as well as published reports on their budgets. It’s best to only donate to those charities you know and trust and under no circumstances should you provide your bank account or credit card information during unsolicited calls from unknown organizations.
