JACKSON Tenn (June 25, 2015) – Jackson Police say they have received reports indicating that people in the area are being targeted by scammers.
Lt Jeff Shepard says there are aware of two type of current scams.
One of the scams involves houses for rent or sale on Craigslist.
The scammers are allegedly taking photos from ads for houses that are legitimately for sale or rent and making fraudulent ads with the photos. The people that answer the ads are then asked to fill out an application which includes personal information such as date of birth and Social Security number.
They are asked to put a deposit on the house using a Green Dot card or other easily transferable methods. The scammers then take the victim’s money and they do not actually have authority to rent or sell the house.
In order to avoid this scam, Police recommend that you do not send money to anyone without verifying they have the authority to rent or sell the house. An in-person showing of the house to include the interior is suggested.
The other scam police are warning citizens about is persons making calls to residents purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.). caller tells the target (victim) that they are behind in their tax payments and they will be arrested if a payment is not made immediately.
Jackson Police warn that if you receive a call from someone who says you owe taxes that are overdue, call the local IRS office at 731-423-2441, and verify the information.
Anyone with information about this case, or any other crime is encouraged to contact the Jackson Police Department at 731-425-8400 or Crime Stoppers at 731-424-8477
