By Mary Garrison
Tribune-Courier Reporter
mgarrison@tribunecourier.com

MARSHALL COUNTY — Western Kentuckians would do well to look a little more closely the next time they pick up their classified ads to search for employment opportunities.

“You know how the old saying goes,” Detective Dan Melone said. “If it looks too good to be true, then chances are, it probably is.”

Marshall County resident Beverly Edwards thought so, too. Last week, Edwards responded to an ad listed in the Tribune-Courier advertising for a sales representative.

“I called the number and was told it was one of those mystery shopper deals,” Edwards said. “I was curious to learn more, so I gave them my mailing address, and I was told that when they needed someone to shop in the area, I’d receive information in the mail about my first assignment.”

Two days later, Edwards received an unmarked letter postmarked Brunswick, Canada, containing a $3,000 cashier’s check and instructions directing Edwards to visit the Moneygram facility inside Wal-Mart of Benton.

“They wanted me to pose as a customer sending money to a relative out of state,” Edwards said. “I was supposed to keep $300 for myself and send the rest to another address.”

Edwards was immediately suspicious and began trying to reach company representatives to verify the authenticity of the check and the assignment. However, each time she called, Edwards said she was redirected to a voicemail box that was no longer taking messages.

It was then that Edwards felt it time to consult professionals.

“I called a friend of mine working at CFSB, and she advised me not to cash the check,” Edwards said. “She said if it was a scam, I would be held liable for the full amount.”

Edwards wisely listened and contacted the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department. Chief Deputy David Maddox responded and gathered information from Edwards for investigators to determine the legitimacy of the deal for themselves.

It came as no surprise to Edwards when Maddox later informed her that the mystery shopper deal was, in fact, a scam.

“The problem that we run into here is that because she didn’t fall for it, technically we can’t open a case,” Melone said. “Most of the time, even for those that do fall victim to this sort of thing, there just isn’t much we can do.”

Melone and Sergeant Detective Matt Hilbrecht often see cases of this nature cross their desks, however because of jurisdictional hang-ups they are, many times, unable to pursue.

“Most of these scams stem from places like Canada or Jamaica or Guam,” said Hilbrecht. “Places we just can’t extradite from.”

Even across state lines can be difficult, Hilbrecht said.

“Just last month I was tracked down a man in California who had gotten hold of a young lady’s debit card information and cleaned $150 out of her account,” Hilbrecht said. “Because it was under $300, it’s a misdemeanor offense, and we can’t extradite.”

Melone advised that the best defense against scams of any kind is good old fashioned common sense.

“Don’t ever let anyone solicit personal or financial information. It only takes a matter of four or five minutes to have your bank account wiped clean,” Melone said. “If someone calls and tells you that your electricity is about to be shut off and they take a check over the phone, take the time to wait and call the electric company first to verify.”

Melone also said to avoid buying into the pitfalls of email enticements.

“No foreign country is going to randomly select you to win their lottery when you haven’t put in for it,” Melone said. “You just have to be on your guard and realize that if it sounds suspicious, it probably is.”