It’s a newly reported scam but one with the same old story: trying to make consumers think they’ve won something as a hook for stealing their account information.

At least one local person has been contacted so far about a scheme that began with her receiving a card in the mail, Capt. Alan Freeman of the Mount Airy Police Department said Tuesday.

The card stated that the woman had unclaimed prizes at a rebate center from two national retailers, Walmart and Target. It directed her to contact a notification center in Herndon, Va., which in turn seeks a credit card number and other personal information for service fees to claim the prizes or rebates offered.

“She didn’t follow through with it,” Freeman said of the woman who instead called police, the appropriate response advised by law enforcement authorities.

“It’s just one of many scams trying to get people to give out their personal information, which of course we shouldn’t do,” Freeman added. “Never, ever give out your credit card information or personal information.”

The police captain said the latest incident smacks of similar scams in the past, which surface and then disappear, only to re-emerge later.

All seem to share the same characteristic of making someone think they’ve won a prize, but solicit personal information that can be used to ravage financial accounts.

Freeman said such schemes bank on the notion that if 100,000 or 500,000 people are targeted via emails, telephone calls or cards, and at least 10 take the bait, it is worthwhile to the criminals.

Pointing out that these scams tend to have an international origin, although some are based domestically, he said they often are re-routed through Canada and linked to such countries as Nigeria. In a Third World nation, reaping even a small number of victims can be good for a year’s salary, Freeman explained.

Area residents who receive such a solicitation should report it to their local law enforcement agency, said Freeman, who added that those responsible can be traced in some instances, especially if Internet sites are involved.

Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or tjoyce@heartlandpublications.com.