Police Log: "Legitimate" Internet Partner Scams Resident

Belmont residents are some of the best educated and better off compared to the rest of the country. Nearly two of every three adults hold a Bachelor's degree –compared to a quarter in the the US – and household income is double that of the rest of the country. The question to be asked is why on a regular basis are Belmont residents duped by fraudulent schemes coming over the Internet?

The latest example occurred on Sept. 10 when a Grant Avenue resident told police that she was apparently a victim of an e-mail scam. She had recently received a message from a company asking her to be their business partner in the area. As part of the arrangement, they would send her a check for her to cash, sending the proceeds back t0 the company less a small fee that she would keep. In addition, the company would require her to share her personal banking information with her new "partner." The Belmont resident said that the company "looked like a legitimate firm" and proceeded to send them her financial information. Soon after she went into business with her new partner, she discovered her account was overdrawn by $4,400: the check had been bogus. She was advised to close all her accounts.