Sheriff warns residents of scam.

Sheriff warns residents of scam.

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The Mason County Sheriff’s Office was advised of a scam that was attempted Tuesday, Jan. 18, in Mason County, and Sheriff Kim Cole is warning residents to be cautious.

“A person calls claiming to be with Amazon and asks you to verify a large purchase — in this case a $900,” said Sheriff Cole. “When you tell them you did not make the purchase, they ask you to hold on the line and send you to their ‘fraud department.’ Once there, you are asked to ‘verify’ your information. They actually do not have any of your information, but in the way they are asking you to ‘verify,’ you are to assume they already have your information. This includes your full name, date of birth, social security number and banking information.

“They will then send you an email linking the ‘antitrust commission’ into your ‘case’ to go after a criminal enterprise — in this case a bank in Peru. They will attempt to get you to transfer money into your checking account. 

“Know that during the ‘verification,’ process above, you unintentionally gave them your banking information. They will tell you they are using that money as ‘bait’ money to catch the crooks in Peru, but promise you all that money back, plus an additional 10 percent tax-free.”

The scammers are using the email address: antitrust.gov.us@gmail.com. The email messages contain incorrect punctuation and grammar.

“In this case, the criminal did not get any money from our citizen,” said Sheriff Cole. “However, please remember, never give any personal information over the phone to a person you do not know and never ‘verify’ your information. Stay safe.”

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