SIKESTON -- With the holidays coming up, several people are likely looking for some extra cash. But it's important to remember that some things aren't what they seem.
A Sikeston resident recently received a letter from Alteka Research Services in Toronto for a "consumer research personnel program." The program promised an hourly or weekly salary, to be increased after three months.
However, not all the funds made were to be kept by the person enrolling in the program. A portion of the proceeds was to be send back to the company.
The resident, who asked for her name not to be disclosed, said that while there are similar legitimate programs, she suspected a problem with this one, because it asked for money to be sent back and would later require bank account numbers and other personal information.
The recipient later took the letter to her bank for confirmation of her suspicions, as well as to alert them to the scheme. She encouraged anyone else that receives a similar letter to do the same.