The Bermuda Police Service would like to advise the public that there has been a recent increase in 'Overpayment Scams' being perpetrated by persons targeting Bermuda residents.

In one recent instance, counterfeit American Express Gift Cheques were sent to a Bermuda resident who deposited the cheques into a local bank account. Detective Sergeant Geraghty of the Bermuda Police Service Fraud Unit said, "This is just one of many scams designed to part people from their money. Often persons claiming to be from Nigeria will send money orders via UPS or Fed-Ex and ask you to cash them at your bank. Once they are cashed, the person allows you to keep some of the money and instructs that the rest is sent back to them. It is only after sending the money that you will discover the cheques to be counterfeit and your bank account to be overdrawn by several thousand dollars."

The Bermuda Police Service would like to advise people to exercise extreme caution when dealing with people over the Internet. If you do business with people through E-Bay, E-Moo or other Internet based personal ads, you should be suspicious if they want you to cash cheques or money orders for them, or wish to pay above and beyond the asking price.

The American Express Gift Cheques have several security features similar to those on your money. They have holograms, watermarks and security threads. You should examine these features closely to determine if your cheque is legitimate.

If you have any doubts, call American Express at 1-800-525-7641 or visit their website here.