New scam sweeps through town!

NATCHEZ — A check for $2,700 comes in the mail. A letter asks the recipient to pose as a consumer sending a money order to a relative. In return, the recipient gets to keep $300.

Sounds great, right?

“If it sounds too good to be true, it is,” Adams County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Jody Waldrop said.

The scam is a new twist on the lottery letters that have circulated around the Miss-Lou recently, Waldrop said.

The letter asks the recipient to serve as a “secret shopper,” evaluating a Wal-Mart payment system called “Money Gram.” The recipient is asked to send money to Ontario, Canada.

Local businesses that have cashed the checks have suffered already, Waldrop said. One business cashed three checks before they found out it was fraudulent.

In the short term, it hurts businesses, he said.

“But ultimately, the person cashing the check is responsible,” Waldrop said.

The businesses could file charges against the individuals, he said. So, the scam hurts both business owners and those who try to cash the checks.

“It’s a lose-lose situation,” Waldrop said.

The checks bear the name of Pioneer Federal Credit Union in Mountain Home, Idaho.

The credit union’s Web site, www.pioneerfcu.org, warns of scams using their bank name. The details, such as check signer — Fred L. Kent — and account name — Re: Sarah Pearson or Mary Donovan — are fraudulent, according to the site.

Waldrop said he heard reports that at least some of the people who received fraudulent checks had responded to an ad placed more than a month ago in The Natchez Democrat.

The sheriff’s office has contacted federal investigators, Waldrop said. But because the money gets sent outside the country, there’s not much they can do, he said.

“If you become a victim, you will be out of your money,” he said.

Anyone who receives a check should tear it up and throw it away, Waldrop said.

They can also call the sheriff’s office at 601-442-2752.