LOCKPORT — I would like to begin this article by wishing a safe and fruitful retirement to Officer Brian Lebere. Brian served the Lockport community for over 20 years as a police officer, DARE officer, and one of our resident computer experts. He joins an active group of 40 fellow retired Lockport officers. Many of our retired members still live in the Lockport area, enjoying their retirement among friends and family. Like Brian, these retired men and women gave much of themselves for many years as they worked to keep us all safe. They are all deserving of our recognition and thanks for a job well-done.

I thought this month would be a good time to discuss some of the new types of scams that have been discovered by police across the country. This is a topic that we discussed in a 2008 article. Unfortunately, there are some new scams out there that I thought should be brought to your attention. Generally, in times of economic hardship, all types of crimes increase. The most obvious are street level crimes such as crimes of theft or drug related crimes such as burglary, robbery or prostitution. However, one of the fastest growing crime trends is financial scams over the Internet or scams aimed at those desperate for employment after losing their job.

The first new scam we have seen recently was pretty ingenious. In this scam, a criminal with pretty good computer skills was able to obtain a victim’s e-mail address information and their password. The criminal, posing as the victim, then sent e-mails to people on the victim’s address list asking them for money. In this particular scam, all the victim’s friends were told that the victim was in jail in another part of the state and needed money to get out of jail. The false e-mail then provided an address to send the money for bail. Luckily, several people who received the false e-mails were able to contact the victim and learn that this was a scam. The victim immediately changed her password and identifying information.

A new Internet scam is called Phantom Stores. In this scam, a person will establish a Web site advertising a product for sale. People will “purchase” items and either send a personal check to the stores address or pay via credit card through computer pay services such as Pay Pal. Unfortunately the store does not really exist. It becomes impossible to get your money back because the person who set up the Web site is long gone by the time we begin our investigation. I know of at least one police department where the investigating officers were able to contact a Phantom Store “employee” via telephone. The scammer bragged to police about his scam and how they couldn’t arrest him because he lived in another country. Most of these fraudulent sites are out of state, which obviously further complicates a police investigation. The best way to avoid becoming a victim of this scam is to stick to Web sites you know or from which you have had successful purchases in the past.

Another growing scam is the work-at-home scam. This is a scam that takes advantage of people affected by our troubled economic times. As we all know, there have been a large number of job layoffs in our area. Because of this, people need to find a way to make money. A potential victim may receive an advertisement over the Internet or see a commercial on television that tells you that you to earn “thousands of dollars” working in the privacy of your own home. A study done by Staffcentrix, a company specializing in home-based careers, found that only 1 out of 55 work-at-home advertisements were actually legitimate advertisements. The best way to determine if the advertisement is a scam is when you contact the phone number provided and you are asked to send the company a “fee” or provide your bank account information to the company for their service. Once you send money or provide the account information, you will never hear from the company again. Also, be wary if the ads tell you that no resume is required and promises “big payouts” for your efforts. Generally, if it is too good to be true, it is!

If you are unsure of a web site or think you have been scammed, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov), the Better Business Bureau or the New York State Attorney General’s office. Obviously, if you think you have been the victim of a crime, call the Lockport police at 433-7700.

Larry Eggert is chief of police for the City of Lockport. His column runs the first Sunday of every month. Contact him at 439-6633 or chiefeggert@elockport.com.