Young Troops Targeted in Postal Scam
Army Times ( JUL. 04)

Some young service members have been the target of a counterfeit U.S. Postal Service money order scam, according to an email from officials at the Marine Federal Credit Union in Jacksonville, N.C. The service members have been approached by Internet thieves who mail them two to five supposed U.S. Postal money orders ranging from $500 to $1,000. Troops are asked to cash the money orders, keep a small amount as a fee for their troubles, and then wire the balance back to the thieves. The catch: After the money orders are processed, they are returned as counterfeit, leaving the service members liable for repaying the full amount.
According to a U.S. Postal Inspection Service news release, the thieves contact victims by e-mail, through Internet chat rooms and online auction sites.

Officials offer these tips to avoid the scams:

• Be skeptical of anyone asking you to wire money to overseas bank accounts, or to cash money orders or checks, on their behalf.

• Never wire funds to anyone before you’re sure the money order or check they gave you was cleared by your bank, and the funds were released.

• Never give out personal or financial information to someone you don’t know.

• Be familiar with postal money order security features. Watermark images of Ben Franklin are repeated on the left side, top to bottom, and a dark security thread is to the right of the Franklin watermark, with the tiny letters “USPS” facing backward and forward.

You can report fraud to the U.S. Postal Service’s hotline at 1-800-372-8347. More information is online .