More than $13,000 lost by area residents in pair of scams - Chillico Gazette

CHILLICOTHE -- A pair of Chillicothe residents this week reported being scammed out of more than $13,000 in separate incidents.

The largest of the two scams was an accumulated amount of about $12,000, according to a Ross County Sheriff's Office report.

The man reported he had met a woman on an online dating site three months ago. During their conversations, the woman claimed to be from Cleveland and said she had gone to Nigeria for a school assignment.

She then told the man her parents had died and she now was stuck in Nigeria and needed help getting home.

He told deputies he wanted to help and sent a few hundred dollars. However, she had another story and another and he kept sending money. The deputy advised the man to stop sending money, that it was a scam.

In the second situation, a woman reported she received a letter in the mail that she had been selected as a secret shopper. However, when she followed the directions -- cashing the check that was sent to her, then sending a Western Union money order for $1,571 -- she discovered it was all a scam, according to the report.

Officials recommend residents always be skeptical of unsolicited job offers, especially of requests to cash a check and to wire some of the money.

Officials also say people should never send money to someone they do not know.