October 4, 2019 • Local News

Why is it so hard to solve fraud schemes?

Story Link: https://kfoxtv.com/community/just-ask-john/why-is-it-so-hard-to-solve-fraud-schemes

El Paso, Texas — A KFOX14 viewer asked me where she should go to report a check scam. She said she filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and has the bank account number where she was asked to wire the money, but she complained it's hard to get something done about this kind of scheme.

She's right and here's why. These scams are now so common and the people behind them can move so fast electronically that law enforcement agencies can't keep up with them.

I reached out to El Paso police about this problem and a department spokesman told me the phone number or email account used for these scams can disappear in an instant and the scammer will simply use another phone number, bank account number or email address tomorrow. So tracing them is extremely difficult.

The El Paso Police Department does have a Financial Crimes Unit and detectives will investigate if you've actually lost money to a scammer. But they're hard to track down because they can quickly erase their online fingerprints.

Your best advice is to hang up if you get a call that either asks for, or demands money, especially if they ask for personal information like your bank account number, or the caller asks you to send them a money order.

Another common scam is getting a check in the mail in which you're asked to deposit it into your bank account and send a portion of the proceeds by money order to a certain address.

You should simply throw out that check because its fake and your bank will hold you responsible for any money lost.

The bottom line is a cliche: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."