Over the past several weeks a plague of fraudulent activity has beset north Louisiana with scammers attempting to bilk residents out of their money. Area law enforcement officials now announce there are currently two more separate scams being reported in the area.

In one of the scams, the caller is posing as an FBI agent and informing people that their name is listed in an FBI money laundering investigation. The scammer then instructs the victim to purchase a gift card and give them the card information, which gives them access to the cash.

The second scam consists of victims responding to a “Now Hiring” post on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn. The suspect then makes arrangements with the victim while posing as the listed employer to send them an e-check for a large sum of money, with instructions to the victim to deposit the e-check in their personal account, then send a partial amount of the check immediately back to the caller. Typically, the bank takes up to seven days to verify the e-check, which is fraudulent, but the victim will have already lost the money. 

The FBI does not conduct their investigations by phone, asking for cash cards, etc., and no legitimate employer hires employees in the manner previously described.

If you feel you have been a victim of a scam, be sure to report it to your local law enforcement agency and to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.