GALLOWAY – Local police have issued a warning that telephone, letter and email scams have cost residents thousands of dollars; and their numbers are increasing.

“Although the department has not received an overabundance of these reports at one time, it has been noted that there were over 20 scams reported to us this past year,” Police Chief Patrick Moran said Tuesday, Feb. 7. “These acts of fraud occur in various ways and usually lead to some form of money being sent without ever receiving a product, benefit, or item of promise.”

According to the chief, most of these come-ons begin by indicating that a person has inherited money or won something in a lottery.

“But there have been some that allege tax benefits, discount cruise tickets, secret shopper items, job listings, shipments, etc.,” Moran said. “There have also been scams and thefts attached to Craigslist sales and fake e-Bay accounts.”

In one case, the victim was told he was to receive a large sum of money, but first had to pay the taxes, Moran said. Another victim received a letter saying he was eligible for employment based on a consumer survey.

“The investigations into these matters usually lead to dead ends or out-of-country destinations and cannot be prosecuted,” Moran said. “Some of the scams are elaborate and even use local phone numbers, which are usually numbers that just “look” local, but are actually coming from other countries or territories.”

One local victim sent $10,000 after being notified that he had won $1 million in a sweepstakes. He was first asked to send $500, then more and still more to cover this or that tax and other imaginary expenses.

“If they get somebody who really thinks he’s won $1 million, he’s going to keep sending,” Moran said. “Then they disconnect the phones and we have no way of catching them. It’s a bad economy and people can be gullible. Some people believe or want to believe that they’ve struck it rich.”

The scams are not target specific, the chief said, but can be very convincing, especially to people who are very trusting. Most of the victims in Galloway have been seniors.

“Unfortunately, the Police Department is not very successful in solving or resolving these scams because of jurisdictional and technical complications,” Moran said. “However, prevention seems to be the best plan of action and most of the scams can be checked online at snopes.com.”

Requiring an in-person contact or checking online is a good idea before sending money in any case, he said.

The criminals are very creative, Moran said.

“We get on average two calls a month,” he said. “And that’s just what’s reported. There’s no telling how many scam attempts we don’t hear about. It’s nothing new. It’s been going on for years.”

He said the police are available to help Galloway residents in any area where they need assistance – call 911 for emergencies or (609) 652-3705 for non-emergencies.