Remembering to read email addresses very carefully is the reason for this Coconut Creek Police Scam Alert.

A man recently came to us after he got scammed out of a large sum of money.

He was in the process of buying a high-dollar item when the seller, or at least the person he thought was the seller, sent him an email requesting a wire transfer to complete the transaction.

However, two letters in the email address had been switched. It was a scammer posing as the seller.

The buyer didn’t notice the discrepancy until it was too late. He had already sent the money.

The lesson here is to read email addresses very carefully. A simple switch of a couple of letters and the scam artist is suddenly the fraudster is the one you’re talking to.

Also… email addresses can be cloned. So, if it’s an unusual request, like one from your boss asking you to buy gift cards, just delete it. It’s a scam.