Internet scammers strike Mason Valley residents

Several Mason Valley residents have recently been the victims of an Internet scam, authorities say.

The scam takes advantage of people trying to sell items over the Internet. Suspects contact the sellers, offering to send cashier's checks to purchase the goods. The scammers will offer to send more than the purchase amount, instructing the seller to give the excess money to the shipper. The cashier's checks are counterfeit.

The scam is being conducted all over the United States, according to Lyon County Sheriff's Department Detective Robin D. Hall.

Detectives are urging anyone who is selling items over the Internet to carefully verify the legitimacy of the purchaser.

Another currently popular Internet scam is the Nigerian advance fee scheme (also called "4-1-9" fraud after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses fraud schemes). In an e-mail, a person will inform the recipient they are seeking a reputable foreign company into whose account they can deposit funds ranging from $10 million to $60 million, which the Nigerian government overpaid on a contract.

Any victim who falls for this scam and makes their bank account available to the scammers will be opening themselves to theft.

Information

For information on Internet scams go online to www.scambusters.org/

To report a crime:

Carson City Sheriff's Office, 887-2020

Lyon County Sheriff's Department, 577-5021