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Tim Tumlinson thought that pennies were indeed falling from heaven when he received a check for almost $5,000 in the mail last Saturday.

“I had gone on the Web site grants.gov nearly a year and a half ago and applied for a grant,” said Tumlinson, a 48-year-old professional landscaper who was seeking a $50,000 grant to start a barbecue business.

“I thought that was what it was. I thought it was legit. I called the phone numbers on the check and was told to deposit it,” said Tumlinson, who underwent quadruple by-pass surgery three months ago.

An accompanying letter had grants.gov above the letterhead of Pillar Grants Company of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The $4,950 check was written on Deustche Bank Trust Company Americas of New York on the account of Springer SBM LLC of Seacaucus, N.J.

“The letter said the grant had been approved,” he said.

When Tumlinson took the check to First National Bank to deposit, a teller called Deustche Bank. It took four phone calls, but finally she was told that the check was a fraud.

The letter said that Tumlinson’s grant of $50,950 had been approved. The $4,950 check he received was for payment of “federal and state taxes,” according to the letter.

“Once the government office receives your tax payment of $4,950 that was sent to you, your grant check in the amount of $46,000 will arrive in two business days to your mailing address,” the letter advised.

Tumlinson was leery.

“I’m not sure how they had it set up to get money out of it or to get into my account, but it’s a phony,” Tumlinson said. “It looked as real as they come. The people of Victoria need to know something’s up.”

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. “There are so many ways your identity can be stolen. There are a lot of scams,” said Officer Chris Guerra of the Victoria Police Department’s Community Services Division.

Some of these identify theft methods include skimmers, hand-held electronic devices that can read credit card information.

“They aren’t too common in Victoria yet, but crooks in other places use them a lot at restaurants and gas stations,” Guerra said.

Guerra suggested paying with cash whenever possible, but if you can’t then “make sure the thing you swipe your card through is on there permanently. If it’s wiggly, avoid using it. It could be phony.”

The officer also suggested regularly checking your account statements because thieves don’t always drain your account but make smaller purchases they hope you won’t notice.

On the Internet, sites that are secure to use your credit card or bank information should start with https:, noted Guerra, emphasizing the “s” at the end of the web address.

As for e-mail announcements that you have won a foreign lottery, “it’s illegal for a U.S. citizen to be entered in a foreign lottery or sweepstakes. If you didn’t enter it, chances are you didn’t win it,” Guerra said.

Another popular scam involves sending a person a check to cash and return a portion of the money to the sender.

“After the check is cashed, the bank finds out it’s phony, and you’ve already sent some of it away,” Guerra said.

He also cautioned against accepting telephone calls from someone claiming to be from your credit card company.

“If you didn't initiate the contact, even if they say they're from your credit card company, hang up the phone,” Guerra recommended.

Sonny Long is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6585 or slong@vicad.com.