Watch out for scams

Scam warning to all homeowners. I've received a couple communications about a scam from a company called Property Tax Reassessment. A letter sent out to homes by the company details your assessed property value and the amount that could be saved in property tax annually.

The Los Angeles based company is asking residents to send in $179 as a service fee to complete a property tax reassessment. Don't send them your money! The County Assessor's Office will provide this service for free.

Also, this warning from the Claremont Police Department:

In November, 2008, a 79-year-old Claremont resident received a telephone call from a person claiming to be her grandson. The caller told the resident that he had been arrested for a DUI traffic collision in Canada and needed to have $5,000 wired to bail him out. He asked her not to tell his parents as he wanted to do so in person after release. He gave her instructions on how to go to a WalMart, deposit the funds, and obtain a wire transfer reference number. He called her later and obtained the reference number which allowed him to get the funds. The caller's voice was not inconsistent with her grandson and she believed it was him.

The caller telephoned the resident again stating he needed an additional $3,500 to pay a passenger in the car for lost wages to avoid a lawsuit. The resident made a second wire transfer as requested. Her grandson spoke to her a few days later and it was discovered to be a scam.

Claremont residents have also been victim to the "Canadian Lottery" scam. In this one the caller states they are a Canadian Lottery official, that the victim has won a large amount of money, usually several hundred thousand dollars or more, and that they need only pay the taxes to have the money delivered to them. Again the victim is asked to wire several thousand dollars to Canada. If the victim falls for the initial scam a frequent follow up is that the messenger with the money is stuck at the US border and needs a sum of money wired to cover US Customs charges.

The callers on these scams are very good at what they do and sound very convincing. It is sometimes difficult for the police to convince victims that they been victimized as they are sure that the next wire transfer will result in the big payoff. Any time you are called and asked to wire money out of the country you should be very suspicious. If you are asked not to tell someone about the situation or told that time is of the essence it should further alert you to a possible scam. If you are ever in doubt don't send the money. If you are tempted to send money call your local law enforcement agency for advice or how to detect a scam. They may already be aware of the one you are about to be a victim of and be able to save you a lot of money.