LESLIE, Mich. — Sometimes you just have to trust your gut, and that intuition saved a local woman more than $2,000.
Angel Anthony sniffed out a scam before sending the scammer thousands of dollars worth of gift cards and money orders.
Anthony got a survey via priority mail promising her $300 if she followed the steps, but something felt off.
"And there's the check," she said pointing one of the contents in the package.
Anthony was intrigued by what seemed like a good way to make a few extra bucks when she found it in her mailbox.
"I mean, I don't have a lot of money. And I know a lot of people out there are desperate and want money, and I just thought 'well, I got to figure out if this is real or not,'" she said.
The "survey" had a list of instructions, telling her to first, deposit the check inside. Once she had the money, she was instructed head to Wal-Mart and buy $300 dollars worth of iTunes gift cards and three money orders worth a combined $2,250. Then, she was supposed to contact the person who sent it to her.
"I was stalling and stalling because something just didn't feel right."
Anthony did as she was told, but then thought better.
"I don't like to be pushed and he was rushing me and I smelled something kind of funny. And I had this scared feeling that this was not real and found out, yeah, it was a scam," she said.
The Better Business Bureau says scams like this are very common.
"It's that fear of missing out. The idea that this offer is 'fantastic, it's going to help me out,' so they do it...without really thinking about what possible consequences there are," Troy Baker said.
Anthony told FOX 47 News she was glad she was able to find out in time, but others may not be as lucky.
"It angers me that there's people out there that take advantage of the elderly, the lowest income people, where they know they're going to go out. These people are going to make money off these poor people," she said.
Experts say even if you're convinced an offer like this is legitimate, wait until the check clears before you do anything. That can take a few weeks. The Better Business Bureau says reputable companies won't ask you to send gift cards back.
To report a scam to the Better Business Bureau click here.
