1812 Brewing Company Inc (KEGS): Hacketts scam hassle finally ebbs after...

Reply Private New

Next 10 Prev Next

Send PM Follow Ignore

Followers	85
Posts	7844
Boards Moderated	0
Alias Born	04/15/2007

AMERICAN_PSYCHO

Re: None

Sunday, 09/30/2007 9:52:07 AM

Sunday, September 30, 2007 9:52:07 AM

Hacketts scam hassle finally ebbs after month.
From: Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, NY) Date: July 19, 2006

Byline: James R. Donnelly

Jul. 19--OGDENSBURG -- A month-long battle against scam artists appears to be coming to an end, according to the head of a city business that was used to dupe people nationwide.

"It's been a pain in the butt. We had to change all of our accounts," said Norman V. Garrelts, president and chief executive officer of Hacketts, a hardware and department store chain based here.

The scam took the form of a letter notifying recipients that they were winners in the North America Shopper's Lottery, Mr. Garrelts said. The winners were told they had won $155,000 but were also told they had to send a $2,300 handling fee to an address in Montreal in order to claim the prize.

Along with the letter was a check drawn on a Hacketts account. The store was identified as a contest sponsor, and people receiving the letter were told to cash the check in order to pay the handling fee, Mr. Garrelts said.

The scam came to light about a month ago when Community Bank questioned one of the checks.

"They wanted to know if a check for $2,300 on our account was legitimate," Mr. Garrelts said.

While Hacketts didn't lose any money to the scam, Mr. Garrelts said it is unlikely that anyone who sent in the money on their own will get their money back.

While the scam represented a first for Hacketts, "according to the banking officials it's a daily occurrence in their business," Mr. Garrelts said.

Although city police and banking officials were notified of the scam, they said there was little chance the people behind it would be found, Mr. Garrelts said. Since letter recipients were told to respond by June 25, the flow of fraudulent checks has stopped, he said.

To see more of the Watertown Daily Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wdt.net.

Copyright (c) 2006, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

ALL POSTED BY AMERICAN_PSYCHO IS EITHER FACT OR OPINION.