Did You Know...

01-17-08 Well the snow seems to have melted away (for now) and we are back into the more familiar weather pattern of rain and fog. Please keep in mind that the Middle School and High School students are still being bussed to Scappoose around 11:00am and returning around 5:30pm. This makes for heavy traffic in and around State Ave and Bridge St. Please drive carefully through these areas as there is a large amount of pedestrian and vehicle traffic as well as the fact that is very dark in the evening making it even more dangerous. Hopefully temporary arrangement will end soon and we will be back to a more normal schedule but I would still ask that all driver's be cautious around the schools. In the Crime Blotter this week you will see a case involving a counterfeit check. When the Vernonia citizen brought the check and corresponding letter into the station is looked like the typical fraud/scam mailer. As with most scams the recipient was presented with a check and asked to deposit the check then send money and information to a third party. In looking into the paper a little further into the check I found that the bank account information on the check went to an actual bank account in Georgia. I called the issuing bank and they advised me the account information was valid but that the check was counterfeit. A very good one I might add. The bank asked that I seize the check and file an incident report. I was advised the several of the checks had been cashed then the victim business froze they account. Anyone who now tries to cash the check will have the police called on them for attempting to negotiate a counterfeit instrument. All too often these scams are successful. The old cliché is "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." Rarely does earning money ever come for free, thus they call it "earning" money. We need to use common sense when someone is willing to give us thousands of dollars and all we have to do is give them our bank account information so they can remove their fee or a small amount the money before depositing even more money into our account. If you want more information on scams, fraud, and other consumer information you can visit multiple websites on the police department website at <http://vpd.vernonia-or.gov> I have also added new Fraud website link <http://www.fraud.org/> Here you will find great information on the latest scams and how to protect yourself. If you feel you are a victim of a scam or would like to report a possible scam please contact the Vernonia Police Department or the police department in your area.