Scammers are on the prowl in this area, using phone lines to look for easy pickings.

One of the most frequent scams involves a person being notified of cash winnings by phone. The victim is usually notified by phone of a “Cash Winning” in a drawing or sweepstake. The suspect tells the victim to purchase a cashier’s check and deliver to the caller in order to receive their winnings.

Citizens are also reporting being contacted on the internet of a “Secret Shopper” scam. The victim receives a check and is instructed to cash the check, purchase selected items at predetermined locations and send the remaining cash to the caller. The checks are fraudulent, and if a victim falls for this scam, he/she will be held responsible by the bank for the amount of the bad check. If you can’t pay the bank back the money you can be charged with a felony.

Authorities have also received reports of the “Pigeon Drop” scam in Tupelo. If it works there, it may well spread here. Often occurring in a mall or shopping complex parking lot, a well-dressed young woman approaches the selected victim, usually an older woman. The younger woman will claim she has just found a bag, briefcase or envelope containing cash and inquires about ownership. A second suspect will approach and tell them she works for an attorney and will seek his advice. Ultimately the pair of thieves will convince the victim to give them cash to secure her part of the found money. They tell the victim the money is necessary to receive her part of the found money.

Along a related line, people should be aware of all charges on their credit cards.

Last year, Ripley police received a police report from an Arkansas Sheriff’s Department where items charged on the stolen card number were shipped to a Ripley address.

The woman who lived at this address said she met this man, from Africa, on a chat room, and later talked to him on the phone and emailed him. She had pictures and info on “him” from a “My Space” page, she told Watson.

He told her he was going to have items shipped to her address and for her to mail those on to him in Africa because it was cheaper to buy things over here and have them shipped over there.

She sent him several packages that were sent to her house at her own expense, but when a big order of car parts came to her house she told him he was going to have to send money. She told him it was going to be too expensive for her to send the parts. He never got around to sending her the money

The victim in Arkansas stated that her card was never physically stolen, but that someone just got her number.

For more information on the above listed scams, please go to the Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi website at www.crimestoppersnems.com.

If you have any questions about these or other scams, you can also contact Ripley Police or the Tippah County Sheriff’s Department.

You can avoid becoming a victim by just using common sense: If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.