NATCHEZ — Natchez police are warning residents of scams involving fake classified advertisements that have reportedly swindled at least two Natchezians out of thousands of dollars.

Natchez Police investigator Phillip Smith said the fake ads published in some Mississippi newspapers asked people interested in becoming a mystery shopper to respond to the ad, which Smith said usually lists a phone numbers but asks inquirers to text or e-mail instead of calling.

Smith said none of the reported fraudulent advertisements had been published in The Natchez Democrat.

The scammers, Smith said, send the interested person a check under the pretense that they will be doing a customer satisfaction survey for a company, such as Western Union.

The check is accompanied with specific instructions, Smith said, for the person to deposit the check and keep some of the money for participating in the survey and travel expenses then send the remainder of the cash along with the survey back to the company via Western Union.

All of the checks, Smith said, are from nonexistent accounts with routing numbers that are from actual banks outside of the United States.

“The routing numbers are from legitimate banks, but the accounts do not exist and do not coincide with the names of the checks,” he said.

The checks, Smith said, are being sent to someone inside the U.S. who is then distributing them.

Smith said one of the local residents that was victimized by the scam reportedly received a check for approximately $3,000, and he said another victim received a check for approximately $1,200.

The McComb Police Department, Smith said, arrested a woman last month who was reportedly sending out fake checks. Smith said the checks were being sent to a vacant house through the United States Postal Service, and the woman was reportedly picking up the checks at the house then sending them out to people.

Smith said because the checks are being sent through the Postal Service, NPD will turn over the investigation to federal authorities.

Anyone questioning the authenticity of an ad can bring it to NPD, and Smith said the department will assist in determining if the ad is fake.

Smith said anyone who receives a possibly fraudulent check in the mail should not open it, but immediately bring it to the department.

“We can find (finger) prints on paper,” he said. “And I would love to try to pull a print off one of these checks so we could find out who is sending them.”

Anyone with any information about the scams or who wishes to report fraudulent advertisements or checks should call NPD at 601-445-5565 or Crime Stoppers at 601-442-5000.