JACKSON WOMAN TOO SMART FOR SCAM ARTIST

As long as they think there is a chance they can rip someone off, scam artists will continue to apply their deception, usually on unsuspecting elderly people.

The latest report of a scam in this area targeted an elderly Jackson woman, who, it turns out, saw what was coming and promptly informed authorities. Now, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, FBI and authorities in Montreal, Canada, are trying to trap the perpetrator by using some of his own tactics against him.

The woman got a telephone call from a man in Canada who identified himself as Ray Parks. The caller told her she had won $1 million from the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, but to get her prize (you guessed it) she had to send $3,100 by Western Union to pay for various costs. She was told to send the money to a woman he said was the company's attorney in Montreal. The scam artist said that once the money was received a man and two police officers would arrive at her home with $1 million. In a move that demonstrated authorities play at the same game, the sheriff's office sent a money order not for $3,100 but for $3.10 to the address the woman was given in an attempt to trick him into thinking she had fallen for the deal but misunderstood the amount she was to have mailed. It worked, because the man called her back five more times over two days. All of the calls were monitored, and if the plan works authorities might be able to nail the scam artist.

In this instance, the scam artist picked on the wrong person. Unfortunately that isn't always the case. There are far too many instances of elderly people being bilked of large sums of money because they trusted someone or even because they are not accustomed to simply telling people no or hanging up the telephone. And there are a lot of instances of people being taken that go unreported usually because the victims are too embarrassed to tell anyone.

It is important that family members and friends keep in touch with elderly people and talk to them about all of the flimflams floating around. When possible, they should touch base with them on their finances, and make sure there is no unusual spending.

The best advice is the simplest: If it sounds to good to be true, in almost every instance it is.