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"Urgent: To Be Opened By Addressee Only," it said.
And on some official-looking stationery, the letter read "We have been trying to contact you but have been unsuccessful... you must respond to this letter immediately!" The letter went on about the recent tax rebates that were sent out and how some people may have been overpaid. It was urgent that I call the toll-free number to verify my information to them to ensure that I didn't get too much money.
Or, quite possibly, I may not have gotten enough.
Wow! There's money out there with my name on it.
But my name isn't "sucker." In times of economic turbulence, when people are having trouble paying bills, offers that money might be available to them are too good to pass up.
Then again, "free" money is good anytime, isn't it?
For example, people are getting bogus checks in the mail and attempting to cash them.
The checks come with a little explainer that goes something like this: "This money is for you, but please send us a little back for our efforts." So you get a check for $5,000, and the sender asks you to send back, say, $500.
Turns out, if the check happens to go through and you deposit it in your account, you're also liable when the check turns out to be bogus. Which happens 100 percent of the time. You've just given $500 of your money -- not theirs -- to these crooks. And you're left holding the bag.
Ask yourself this question: Why in the world would some perfect stranger send you money? And shouldn't your alarm bells go off when they ask for some of it back?
If it's too good to be true... well, you know the rest.
These scams have been going on for years, but for some unfathomable reason, people keep falling for it.
DON'T WORRY ABOUT TOYOTA: A subject close to Northeast Mississippians' hearts is the Toyota plant near Blue Springs.
With the economy hitting automakers hard -- and Toyota isn't immune -- there has been wild, unfounded speculation that the plant could be nixed.
But look at the numbers. Highlanders are still selling; in fact, they're the company's best-selling SUV.
There's no reason to panic, folks.
Besides, the Highlander is built on the Camry platform, which means, technically, the Blue Springs plant could build other vehicles. Not saying that will happen, but it's nice to know that there are options available.
Dennis Seid is business editor of the Daily Journal. Reach him at 678-1578 or e-mail him at dennis.seid@djournal.com.
To see more of Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.djournal.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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