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Free Money Too Good to be True for Crowley Man

Posted at 7:03 PM, Jul 26, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-26 20:11:15-04

A Crowley man was the target of the latest scam and he says his bank has seen several similar cases just this month.

Mike Edwards got a letter in the mail that seemed like a legitimate offer.

"It said earn money doing surveys in your area, so I went there. They sent me this package in one week. This check is for 2400 dollars," said Edwards.

The scammers asked him to use part of the money to buy and send them prepaid gift cards, and he could keep the rest. Crowley Police Chief Jimmy Broussard says this is almost never a valid offer.

"They'll tell you you need to purchase prepaid credit cards, green dot cards, certain cards like that. If they're asking you to do it that way, I can promise you 99.99% of the time its bogus because by the time you purchase that card the money is already out of your account," said Chief Broussard.

When Edwards took his check to the bank, they told him the same thing.

"They looked at the water marks and said 'This is bogus, Mr. Edwards. You're the fourth person this month that's come by our bank. This is all over Acadia Parish and probably the U.S., but its a scam,'" says Edwards.

"If it looks to good to be true, it probably is," said Chief Broussard, adding that any time somebody asks you to send money in the mail or electronically, it's always best to contact local law enforcement, the Better Business Bureau or the Attorney General's Office before you share any funds or information.