Whitesboro Man Finds Himself Victim of Expensive New Scam

It seems like every time you turn around there is a new scam threatening your security and your wallet. For Chris Damiano of Whitesboro it cost him some serious scratch. Chris is a school custodian and he recently found himself a victim of a pretty sophisticated email con. You can never be too careful. Here is his story.

One day Chris checked his email and he noticed an attractive offer from the technology company 'Toshiba.' Everything about the email looked legitimate and basically the message was an offer to have his personal vehicle wrapped in their brand's logos in exchange for compensation to essentially advertise their company. Chris says the email looked legitimate due to the fact the emails looked like they came from the copyrighted and trade-marked company. After sending his information into the company he received another email stating that he needed to answer a few more questions. In regards to payment it read,

Note: Toshiba will take full responsibility for placing and remove decal on your car and it will not resort to any damage. Also we have OUT-SOURCED the payment of funds to you to another Agency, so please do not be alarmed by the payment not coming directly from Toshiba.

In hindsight that should have been a red flag, but with everything else appearing on the up and up, he proceeded with providing information that would lead to him getting paid. Here is where the scam, and it's sophistication, came into play. Chris was mailed a check that he was to deposit for $2,500. He was then instructed to keep $450 (his compensation rate), and send the rest back. When he received the check, it cleared in two days, and then he sent the balance to an address in Texas. After all that. The original check bounced and the scammer was $2,050 richer, leaving Chris behind to pick up the financial pieces. He has contacted authorities and is waiting for resolution. Beware of this type of scam and others like it. Odds are, if something seems too good to be true, it unfortunately usually is. Good luck to Chris and his family, and if anyone has information on this or scams like it contact Whitesboro Police.

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