With the onset of the holiday season, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is reporting an increase in fraud activity, especially over the Internet. Victims are being targeted with several scams. One is the Granny Scam, in which a grandparent receives a call from someone purporting to be their grandchild and claiming they need money because of some emergency, such as being arrested. They request money to be sent to a specified location. In the Romance Scam, a person who has been corresponding with another person they have yet to meet through a dating site is asked to send money to that other person for travel purposes to meet them. The Craigslist Scam involves buying and selling goods or involves the renting of property, where security deposits are asked to be sent through the internet or other means.
