Crime & Safety

Michigan State Police Warn Residents of Holiday Scams

Here are some tips to avoid becoming a victim of fraud during the holidays.

Con artists are “working hard” to get their hands on your money this holiday season, the Michigan State Police reports.

"There have been a few reported attempts by scammers related to telephone calls that are placed to a potential victim asking them to wire money to the scammers so the victim can receive large sums of money," the department said in a press release.

The most recent scam involves a scammer requesting someone wire money from Wal-Mart to another individual and in return will receive millions of dollars in U.S. currency.

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Police said other scams to be wary of this year include:

  • Naming a Star

What gift could you give someone that symbolizes the first Christmas? A star! Various companies claim you can name a star for around $20-$150. These companies will send you a certificate with the name and location of “your star” and promise that your star’s name will be in a star registry. Stars are named by the International Astronomical Union — and they aren’t selling. Stars are traditionally assigned numbers and are assigned according to the internationally accepted rules of the IAU. When the companies say your star is going into a “registry,” they mean whatever registry they made up.

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  • Fake Charities

Many charities will come knocking, calling or mailing you for donations because people are more generous during the holidays. According to the Federal Trade Commission, many of the calls you get his year will be from scam artists. The FTC has a checklist of warning signs to help you steer clear of charity scams. Make an annual charity giving plan and stick to it.

  • Spam Solicitations

Never buy anything from an unsolicited e-mail. No matter how “good” the deal is, it is not worth the risk of losing your money or giving any of your personal information to a possible scam artist. Delete these e-mails and do not respond to them because it lets the spammers know that you have a working e-mail address and sets you up to become a victim of identity theft.

  • Fraudulent classified ads or Internet auction sales

Internet criminals post classified ads or auctions for products they do not have, then purchase the item with someone else's stolen credit card. If you receive an auction product from a merchant or retail store, rather than directly from the auction seller, contact the merchant to verify the account used to pay for the item actually belongs to you. Shoppers should not provide credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or other financial information directly to the seller. Always use a legitimate payment service to protect purchases.

For more tips to avoid holiday scams, visit the FBI's new E-Scams and Warnings website.


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