GARAGE SALES
The Garage Sale season is here once again, and we wish to remind and encourage everyone to use the bulletin board placed in front of the Winkler Arena for that purpose.  It is illegal to place signs on City property (City of Winkler By-Law 1796-04).  We feel this is to everyone’s convenience and advantage, as sellers and shoppers need only go to one place to post signs or to read all bulletins.  It also addresses safer driving habits, as people don’t have to try to read and record information from signs posted on roadsides.  Pembina Valley Online also has a Garage Sales link on their website, on which to find postings of current garage sales, or to post listings of your own.  When hosting a garage sale, please remind your customers to refrain from parking in no parking areas.  May all your junk be someone else’s treasure.

CHEQUE OVERPAYMENT FRAUD
This type of cheque scam could leave victims thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Here's how this scam works:  A person legitimately selling a product, most often a vehicle through an online advertising service, is contacted by a buyer who agrees to a purchase price.  The buyer mails a cheque for a larger amount than the agreed upon price (as much as $8,000 or more).  When the seller contacts the buyer about the mistake, the target of the fraud is told to wire back the excess once the cheque has cleared.  The victim, believing the cheque to be authentic when his or her bank accepts it, wires the money back.  Then a week or so later, the cheque turns out to be forged and the con artist is long gone.  The bank doesn’t cover the fraudulent cheque and the victim is out the amount of money they returned to the con artist.

If you have been contacted in such a manner, call your local police service.

For more information on how to protect yourself from frauds and scams, please refer to the following websites:

BEWARE...AND DON'T GET SCAMMED!  
Did you just win the big one...or are they trying to win big from you? 

Have you ever received a phone call in which a stranger congratulates you on your big win, yet you can't recall entering a contest, or don't understand why you would be "specially chosen for this offer"?

Well, it happens frequently and the ultimate goal for the caller is to separate you from your money, and not to make you rich as they would have you believe.

What do you do when you receive a phone call stating you have won the GRAND PRIZE, won something for next-to-nothing, or won something for nothing at all?

Telephone scams are not new, and have been around for years.  Scams will generally consist of the caller telling you that you have been specially chosen to win something, but that in order to receive your prize you will need to send money to activate their offer, or to pay for one to get four for free, etc.  Many times callers will insist on needing your credit card number for the same reasons.

Under no circumstances should you ever:

• provide your credit card number to an unknown source

• send money to an unknown source

• give out any personal information to anyone you don't know

The best position to take in these instances, is that when it sounds too good to be true, it is, and you should simply hang up.

For more information about how these scams work, and what you can do to recognize them, to protect yourself, and to help in the fight against these crimes, call The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (formerly PhoneBusters) at 1-888-495-8501 or visit their comprehensive web site at www.phonebusters.com.