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Common Internet Scams
We regularly hear on the news about scams that are going around. One such scam is when a citizen is selling something over
the internet and is contacted by a potential buyer. The buyer will send the citizen a money order to purchase the item. However, when the money order arrives, it is for more money than the selling amount. The confused citizen wonders what to do with
the money order. Then they receive an e-mail advising them that there was an error and they were sent a money order for more
than was agreed upon. The e-mail will direct the citizen to go ahead and cash the entire money order and “keep some of the
extra money” for their trouble. The e-mail continues to advise the citizen to send the remaining amount to an address provided
via Western Union. Once the citizen has completed this action, they are now a victim because the money order gets returned
as fraudulent. In most cases, the money travels outside the United States and is not traceable.
In June of 2009, the Sheriff’s Office took one of these reports with an interesting turn of events. The victim in this case
took it upon herself to investigate the wire transfers and to make some phone calls. The victim was able to determine the
money was wired to Delaware and was picked up at that location. Investigations began working with the victim and the Delaware
Police Department. After only a few days, the Delaware Police were able to locate the person responsible for the pick-up and
were able to get a confession. The suspect was interviewed by Delaware Police and advised she was going to transfer the money
out of the country. The suspect pled guilty to the crimes.
Burglaries
During this Labor Day weekend, business owners of many salons arrived to find someone had burglarized their businesses by
smashing out their front doors. An estimated total of 23 salon owners were victimized in the cities of Centennial, Greenwood
Village, Aurora and Foxfield. The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office began conducting increased patrols in area shops. An alert
patrol deputy discovered a burglary in progress at another salon, and was able to take the suspects into custody. Arapahoe
County Sheriff’s Office investigators were called in to assist. During interviews, investigators were able to obtain confessions
to 11 of the 13 reported incidents within Arapahoe County/City of Centennial and the Town of Foxfield. Investigations also
served a search warrant on the suspects’ residences, which turned up additional pieces of evidence. The suspects have been
charged in one of the burglaries with additional charges pending in Arapahoe County/City of Centennial, Greenwood Village
and Aurora.
| Investigations Archives 2009 |
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