Postmaster warns of mail scam
TRAVERSE CITY -- A Northern Michigan postmaster has a warning: next time you check your mail watch out for scams.
Acting Traverse City Postmaster Judy Zimmerman says con artists are trying new tricks to take your money. For the past few years scammers have been targeting email accounts, but people are wising up and deleting those types of spam.
Now scammers are trying to gail credibility by buying postage and packages to trick people though the mail.
Zimmerman says, "she came to us and said I want to cash this money order, but I don't know who this is or where it came from."
Zimmerman has seen several types of mail fraud, but this one's a first. A Traverse City woman signed for an Express Mail package, opened it, and found a money order for more than $800. No strings attached, no misspellings, and no foreign address like there are with many scams.
Zimmerman says, "I can tell right off the bat if it is a scam."
She could tell this was a fake because of the dotted numbers, something that wouldn't be on an authentic money order. It's something that set off red flags to post office officials.
Zimmerman says, "I've never seen this before, so I don't know what would've happened if she cashed this."
The U.S. Post Office does go after people who send scams through the mail. The more letters, the more evidence they collect, and that helps postal inspectors build a case and stop scammers from preying on victims.
