It was the investigation into a case in which a woman almost lost her home because she had been convinced to send her mortgage payment to a different address that prompted Andalusia Police Chief Paul Hudson’s recent round of speaking engagements to discuss fraud.

Hudson spoke at First Methodist Church Tuesday morning and to the Andalusia Rotary Club at noon.

“This lady was about to have her house repossessed,” he said. “She had proof she had been making payments, she had just been scammed for two years.”

Hudson’s message is simple: If it sounds too good to be true, be suspicious.

“There’s a telephone scam in which someone says they are with the U.S. Marshals and have a warrant for your arrest,” he said. “That’s a scam. If the Marshals are looking for you, they’re going to knock on your door and put you in a nice set of bracelets.”

Other frequent scams are notifications that a person has won money from Publishers’ Clearing House, but needs to send money before they can get receive theirs, he said.

“Everything looks so real with the use of AI, he said. “If you use your computer for banking, and click on a link in an email scam, the scammers have access to your banking information. And the sad truth is that we can never get your money back.”

Most of the scammed funds end up in overseas accounts, he said.

“Unfortunately, a lot of elderly people don’t believe it’s a scam,” he said. “We’ve had some victims lose $20,000, $30,000, or $40,000. And we can’t get it back.”

Hudson advised people who are approached by phone to ask for a number and tell the caller they will have to call them back.

“If they can’t give you a number, it’s more than likely it’s a scam,” he said.

He encouraged residents to talk to their older friends and neighbors about scams, and to carefully watch bank accounts and credit card charges.