Be aware of latest telephone scam

y Mike Meier

BONNERS FERRY — Scammers have struck Boundary County posing as the Publisher Clearing House seeking local winners and several residents within our County have been taken in by this latest ploy to remove you of your money.

The plot starts with a phone call from a very professional sounding person professing to be from Publishers Clearing House and the conversation drifts in a direction where you do not want to go. These people use very professional interview tactics and are very skilled at their trade.

Publishers Clearing House never contacts winners by telephone. Almost all phone calls from someone claiming you area a winner is a hoax, aimed only at stealing from you. They can sound so real it must be true, or at least we hope it is.

If you receive any call from a distant relative or sweepstakes organization, be very cautious of what you tell them and believe. Report all internet and phone fakes to www.ic3.gov/default.aspx so every effort can be made to catch these thieves.

Also report any attempts to steal from you to local authorities so we can get the word out.

We live in tough times with all kinds of people out to take our money. Remember the old saying; “If it sounds to be good to be true” really applies in this age of computers and the information highway.

Mike Meier is the Boundary County Public Information Officer.