November 01st, 2015

    In October, there was a reported sham taking place in Dane County, Wisconsin. Many people received a call from a shammer pretending to be from the sheriff's office. The caller tells the would-be victim that they have a warrant for their arrest or that they have dodged jury duty and they need to pay some money to make it right. The victims are told to send money to avoid arrest. Don't do it! It's a sham! The sheriff's department DOES NOT collect fees over the phone! Nor do any law enforcement agencies.
    There is one nationwide scam that is costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars every year. Bobby Harris, who worked at Arlington National Cemetery, was issued 2 fuel cards to maintain all the vehicles. He did that and more! He was caught using those cards for his own personal vehicles in excess of $5,000. He agreed to a plea deal in September, but lost his job and had to pay over $10,000 in fines and restitution. He also is on 2 years of supervised probation. 
    In the past 5 years, the Office of the Inspector General at GSA (General Services Administration) has recovered over $2 million in taxpayer money from gas scammers. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Many government "card holders" steal small amounts which can't be detected and others manage to steal greater amounts without it being noticed. The loss is in the tens of millions and perhaps over $100 million in these gas scams alone! That is how much we as taxpayers have to pay these scammers. And how do we pay for those thefts? Just like the way we pay for all government waste... out of our wages and savings in the form of numerous taxes, fees, tolls, licenses, etc.

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