Each week, I usually write the article about something pertaining to history, but this week after an incident that just happened with me, I want to alert the readers to scams.

The story goes like this. I have a 1950 Chevy Truck for sale, and we put it on the Internet on a website known as Craigslist. Within 24 hours we had an interested person inquiring from Washington state. Finding this strange, we received a second e-mail from the person stating she worked off-shore and wanted the truck for her son’s birthday.

She wanted confirmation of our e-mail and the selling price. The next e-mail stated she had made a deposit of the funds in our PayPal account and had also added $900 dollars in shipping fees, but a hold had been placed on the account until we sent the shipper the fees. She then instructed us to go to Western Union send the $900, fax the receipt to the name and address provided, and she would release the money in the PayPal account.

This is a scam! We refused to send anything until we had money in our bank account. The person sent two more e-mails ordering us to do as we were told or we would be turned over to the local law enforcement agency and arrested. We refused! The last e-mail received from this person used an FBI logo on the e-mail and once again threatened to have us arrested for not sending the funds via Western Union immediately.

My wife and I both being in law enforcement immediately knew that this was a scam and that this person was using threats to scam $900 dollars from us. We sent the e-mails to PayPal, which immediately responded that this was a scam and don’t send any funds to this person. I hope this article serves as a reminder to readers that these scams happen every day, and don’t send or release anything you are selling until you have your money in hand.

Years ago, you might have been approached by someone in a parking lot with what appeared to be a lot of money they claim to have found. This scam, also known as a pigeon drop, is not used as often now that we have computers and the Internet. Also, beware of someone asking you to deposit a check into your bank account and asking you to send them the difference because they accidently sent you too much. They get the money, and the check will never clear the bank.

The Internet scam has already happened to some residents in St. John the Baptist Parish. So, the moral of this story is “don’t send money to anyone, and don’t release anything you are selling until you have the money in your hands.” Remember these scam artists use logos from real companies to make the e-mails look official. It’s so easy to copy and paste on the Internet! Remember, if someone wants you to send money quickly because you won something, it’s a sure bet that you are going to be the victim of a scam if you reply.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, you’re right, it probably is! Be sure to report any suspicious activity to the websites you use. They are in the business to assist you if you think it is a scam. We were notified immediately that the e-mails were a scam and given instructions on what we needed to do next.

Wayne Norwood is a lieutenant with the St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s Department and owner and operator of the Louisiana Treasures Museum.