Winder Police Urge Residents to be Aware of Potential Holiday Scams

As the holiday season approaches, the urges residents to be aware of potential scams.

“Our intent is to assist citizens who might encounter any form of holiday scam and prevent them from becoming a victim of fraudulent activity," Winder Police Chief Dennis Dorsey said in a news release.

Here are two types of scams residents may encounter.

• One type of fraud is commonly referred to as a “secret shopper” or “mystery shopper." According to the Winder Police Department, this scam occurs when an entity disguised as a business attempts to solicit a potential victim by sending them a form of money, usually a check or money order sent through the mail. The victim is instructed to cash the check and return most of the money back to the sender. The instructions usually tell the victim to purchase goods at a particular store with the remaining money and might allow the victim to keep a small portion of it as their income for performing this task. The victim is asked to comment on the way the items are marketed and displayed as well as the treatment they receive from store employees and then report this information back to the sender, giving the victim the perception that it is being done as market research. Often, the victim can be stuck with the penalties associated with cashing a check with insufficient or fictitious funds.
• Another form of fraud that often goes undetected is door-to-door soliciting. Many people will attempt to sell various items, such as magazines, books, holiday novelties, discounted memberships to local organizations, food items, etc. Many jurisdictions, including the city of Winder, require persons who solicit for money in exchange for goods and services to first apply and obtain a permit from the local government. The permit must then be presented to any potential customers upon their request to verify the legitimacy of the business. Anyone who fails to produce such permit should be considered a non-legitimate business.

The Winder Police Department would like to remind all residents that if they come in contact with a situation that seems suspicious or out of the ordinary, they should contact local law enforcement before performing any financial transactions.

Have you been the victim of a scam? How did you handle the situation? Tell us in comments.