New mailbox scam requests credit card for fake delivery, Better Business Bureau warns

This June 10 photo shows a chip credit card in Philadelphia. Even as an Oct. 1 deadline approaches to switch Americans over to credit cards embedded with chips, the vast majority still does not have the new cards and only some are using them as intended, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows. (Matt Rourke/AP)

Find out how to protect yourself from the latest identity theft scam with tips from the Better Business Bureau

A good rule of thumb: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

Case in point: this week’s Scam of the Week on Truth Radio 1340 from area director Dreama Jensen of the Better Business Bureau. Jensen reports a number of people around Elkhart are finding postcards in their mailboxes from a company called Notification Warehouse.

The postcard claims that numerous attempts to reach the resident have been unsuccessful, and that they risk losing out on the delivery of a package, in this case jewelry. The way to ensure delivery is to contact the company and pass along your credit card information to cover the $12.95 shipping and handling charges. It’s another case of asking for a small amount of money to open the gateway to getting enough of your information to take more money later.

Jensen says that a few area residents have fallen prey to this scam and have not received any package in the mail. Further attempts to contact the organization are unsuccessful or met with frustration.

The people being targeted have pointed out that they didn’t order anything, and therefore the postcard was unsolicited. The scammers are counting on the intended victims to assume that the package was ordered by someone else in the home or possibly sent as a gift.

Be suspicious of any delivery that claims you have been difficult to reach on multiple occasions. Legitimate delivery services have a number of means at their disposal to contact residents who have a genuine package delivery. However, the postcard looks legitimate and a few people in the area have fallen for it. Many of the victims in situations like this are the elderly, Jensen says.

Hear the Scam of the Week by clicking here.

Jensen urges area residents to use common sense before sharing any sensitive information, especially information involving credit cards, with a third party that you are uncertain about. If you have any suspicions about someone who is requesting your information, you can always reach out to the Better Business Bureau. The local office in Osceola is on McKinley Highway, and the phone number is 574-675-9351.

Jensen is continuing her investigation into the company. There is no record of the company at the address it provides on its postcard.

The Scam of the Week with Dreama Jensen of the Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana is heard every Tuesday morning at 8:40 on the Truth Radio Early Edition.

At the Elkhart Truth: http://www.elkharttruth.com/news/Truth-Radio-1340/2015/09/29/New-mailbox-scam-requests-credit-card-for-fake-delivery-Better-Business-Bureau-warns.html