NEW England MP Tony Windsor has warned the community that there appears to be a spate of scams circulating within the region and the community should be very cautious about any unsolicited approaches by phone, email or in writing.

"I have been made aware of a number of cases over recent times where people from the Tamworth, Quirindi and Werris Creek areas have received phone calls from people purporting to be from various government departments and private corporations seeking advances to be made to Western Union accounts in the hope of realising a significant monetary gain.

Unfortunately these transactions when sent internationally are virtually untraceable and irreversible," Mr Windsor said.

In another case, a Delungra woman, who advertised a car in the classifieds of The Inverell Times, was contacted via an SMS message from a man claiming he wanted to purchase the vehicle but was working away from home.

He said he had transferred money for the purchase and would use PayPal to pay for the vehicle.

The woman went reported the matter to Inverell Police after discovering it bore similarities to other scams.

Sellers of vehicles should be aware of buyers who offer to buy the car without seeing it, especially overseas buyers and never agree to a payment plan, regardless of the terms.

© 2011 Inverell Times

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