ANDERSON COUNTY — The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office is warning area residents to be on the alert for scams directed at job hunters after the agency took reports on two such scams.

One involved an employment ad posted on Craig’s List online. The victim was “hired” and subsequently received a check from the company ‘Art Materials and Paintings’ via USPS with instructions to deposit the check into a bank account and use the funds to book a convention center for a presentation.

A follow-up communication from the company reversed the original instructions and informed the victim to send part of the funds to another individual, who would instead be setting-up the meeting. Once the money was sent, the victim was informed by the bank that the company’s check was fraudulent. The victim lost $1,900 in the transaction.

A second scam involved an email sent to a victim asking her to become a “Mystery Shopper.” The victim reportedly received two cashier’s checks from the Navy Federal Credit Union along with instructions to send funds to several locations.

After forwarding over half of the amount received, the victim was informed by her bank that the checks were fraudulent. The victim lost over $2,900 in the transaction.

If you are the victim of fraud and lose either money or property as the result of a scam, contact your local law enforcement agency.

If you become aware of fraudulent activity, contact the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs at 1-800-922-1594 or file a scam report at www.consumer.sc.gov. You can also file a complaint with the National Fraud Information Center at www.fraud.org. The information you provide may help to prevent others from becoming victims.

Staff Report