Police authorities in St. Lawrence County are warning of a fraudulent “secret shoppers” scam originating outside the county but which has taken in some county residents.

St. Lawrence County Sheriff Kevin Wells says his office and other law enforcement agencies have had several reports of a scam that has victimized people here and elsewhere.

In a statement, Wells said the fraud, in the most current report, originates in Indianapolis, Ind. The company attempts to advertise in local papers for “secret shoppers.”

“In this case the fraud / scam requests for people to go out and buy select items at specific stores and keep the receipts. In the mean time the company sends the ‘shoppers’ a check for $1,500 and asks the ‘shopper’ to cash the check and then send the company back $900 in a money order along with the receipts. All indications are that the check and the address used for the company are not legit and that this is a case of fraud and a scam,” Wells said.

The check in one case was issued under the name of Finance Center Federal Credit Union.

“FCFCU is a real name of a legit institution but fraudulent cashier’s checks under this name have been surfacing since 2011,” Wells said. A Google search will show reports of similar past scams.

Wells repeated the well-known cautionary phrase: “If it seems too good to be true, chances are it is.”