Athens-Clarke Police Warn Residents Of 'Door-To-Door' Scams

ATHENS, GA -- The Athens-Clark County Police Department is warning residents of multiple scams going around.

"Please be on the lookout for 'Door-to-Door' Scam artists," the department said this week on its Facebook page. "Never pay for products of services in advance."

Police said there are several schemes that hoaxers are trying, including "Craig’s List Scam, Identity Theft Scam, Phishing Scam" to name a few.

Here are five other scams that residents need to be aware of in this day and age:

The 'government program will pay your bills' scam

This one works like this: For an up-front fee (or processing fee), a government program will pay all your monthly bills, saving you from the hassle.

The scam is especially popular in some African-American church communities, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which plainly says this on one of its blogs: "There is no federal program that pays your monthly bills in exchange for payment of any kind."

What can happen is this: They will pay your bill electronically for the first month and never again, or they'll cancel the payment. Don't fall for it. You've just given away your information and become late on your bills.

Credit bureau scam involving online rentals

Let's say you need an apartment or car. You're looking online and find one just to your liking. You call the number on the ad and they say, "No, problem. Yes, it's still available! We just need a credit check. Don't worry, we'll refer you to our website, which does it online and you'll get a free credit report as well."

The ads are fraudulent. The company probably doesn't own the apartment or vehicle. It's all a scam to get your credit information. Some companies will charge you a hidden fee ($25) to automatically enroll you in a credit monitoring service you didn't ask for -- and it's all to get a "free" credit report.

Read more: Phone scam starts with this simple question
The Federal Trade Commission put the stops on one of these companies, Credit Bureau Center LLC, because of fraudulent activities.

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