As soon as Congress passed the federal stimulus bill this year, scam artists decided to grab the opportunity.
The Federal Trade Commission says thieves are telling potential victims that the bill contains money to pay off their debts.
The chief of police in The Colony sent an e-mail to his officers, warning them of the scheme.
"All we want to do is warn people: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Lt. Bill House said.
Police said the scammers are calling, e-mailing and sending mail to their targets, telling unsuspecting victims that the new stimulus bill includes money to pay off some of their debt. All they have to do is send a small processing fee.
House said such scams can be easy to spot.
"If it has anything to do with government, government grants or money that's available to them, they won't have to pay anything to get access to it." he said.
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Anyone who thinks they might have been a target of the scams can file a complaint with the FTC.
