Sheriff's office warns of scams

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is advising residents of two attempts to obtain money and personal information by fraudulent means.

Several Carson Valley residents have received letters from a firm called Norwich of England.

"The gist of the letter is that someone in England passed away and Norwich is looking for someone to assume next of kin to collect millions of dollars," said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tom Mezzetta.

"This firm says they can assist you with proper documentation and you get the proceeds," he said.

Ploys include a cashier's check which Norwich asks the recipient to deposit, then send back some of the money. The recipient discovers the check is bogus, but, by then, the money has been sent to Norwich.

"Any money you send them is gone," Mezzetta said.

"We're asking people, if you get one of those letters, just throw them in the trash," he said.

The second scam involves a phone caller who says he is from Medicare and tells the resident that the agency is changing identification numbers.

"They tell the person they need their information like date of birth, address, Social Security number," Mezzetta said.

"Fortunately, this person didn't fall for it. When she asked for a callback number, they hung up," he said.

Mezzetta said if residents do fall victim to the scams and lose money, they should contact the sheriff's office at 782-9911.

He also encouraged victims to contact their financial institutions.