Bruning Warns About Scams Aimed at Nebraskans - KHGI-TV/KWNB-TV/KHGI-CD-Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning is warning consumers about increasingly sophisticated scams from offshore.

Bruning announced Monday that his office received more than 450 fraud-related consumer complaints in 2012. He says the most common scams involve fake checks, lottery letters and "mystery shopper" job offers that are initiated through postal mail or email.

Bruning is urging consumers to monitor their credit reports regularly. He says many of the foreign scams are coming from organized crime in Russia and east Africa. Often, his office lacks the resources to stop the offshore perpetrators.

Jim Hegarty, president of the Better Business Bureau in Nebraska, says residents should shred documents with any identifying information to protect themselves from identity theft and other scams.