Bonners Ferry woman almost victim of scam

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Last week, Rick Alonzo, deputy chief with Bonners Ferry Police Department, told us about a woman from Bonners Ferry who was almost the victim of an apparent Internet scam.

The woman, who Alonzo did not name, was contacted via e-mail by an artist in England. This so-called artist said he could not accept travelers checks as payment for his work. The artist claimed he had problems cashing them in England.

The artist said he was looking for an "agent" in the United States to cash his checks, and that agent could then wire the money to Nigeria. The woman from Bonners Ferry was told she would receive a 10 percent commission. She agreed to do the job.

Then she got an envelope with six, $500 traveler's checks from Darby, Pa. It was delivered by United Postal Service. Suspicious, the woman contacted Alonzo. He took the checks to Mountain West Bank in Bonners Ferry, where it was determined they were fake.

Had the woman cashed these checks at her bank, the money to cover them would've been taken from her account.

So if you hear about how to get rich on the Internet, it's probably a scam. Most quick-rich schemes are.

? Gwen Albers is managing editor of the Bonners Ferry Herald.