STORY:
Beware of Y2K Scams

With fear of Y2K problems-police warn public of illegal scams

TheY2K computer problems are a perfect opportunity for scam artists to con your money. Criminals are using Y2K fears to target their clients and in some cases are quite successful.

They can call you on the phone, mail out information or pose aas a federal employee so you have to be aware that they are out there.While reports of Y2K scams are infrequent right now police are expecting them to increase as the year draws to a close. In fact, some criminals will just wait by the ATM machines and after you withdraw your money they will steal it from you. It's time to start planning now, and if you are going to need cash either take it out of the bank inside at a branch office, or make sure you withdraw your ATM money in the daylight with other people around you.

There's other scams to worry about and these are already reported across the nation. The first begins with a phone call. Someone will call you and their "company" will offer you a safe place to store your money so it's outside Y2K-susceptible banks. The safe place they mail you in return is a book with a hole in the middle for the money. The thieves know your address because they mailed you the book, and they return to your home and take your money. They know exactly where your cash is because it's on your bookshelf.

The second reported scam is geared toward senior citizens. A person posing as a federal employee calls up and tells them their social security check won't be good after the first of the year and they promise to convert their current cash to gold. That one sounds like a scam because it isn't real creative, but people fall for it everyday.

These are just two examples of hundreds of scams out their, its up to you to keep your eyes and ears open. Don't give out your credit card number over the phone and whenever you hear the word Y2K in a telephone pitch listen carefully, because it could be a scam.

Source: Associated Press

DATE: 11/19/99

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