There’s nothing like a crisis to bring out the best – and the worst – in people. Across Grant County, we’ve seen plenty of the former as people reach out to help their neighbors deal with layoffs, pay cuts and other economic worries.

Yet amid the outpouring of help could be heard this sour note: Scammers have wasted no time trying to use the economic meltdown and the talk of stimulus bounty as a way to trick people into divulging their personal financial information. Local banks are warning customers to watch out for these scams, and Oregon Attorney General John Kroger issued an alert last week to warn people about these cruel schemes.

In a new twist on an old ploy, scammers e-mail people in the guise of being an official who needs to deposit stimulus payments into your bank account. It sounds great, but what really happens is that they drain the bank account. In some cases, the recipient will be asked to verify that they are “eligible” for payment – clicking on the links to do so downloads software that can be used by identity thieves.

Other sneaky schemes: Websites that offer – for just $1.99 or some other nominal fee – a list of stimulus grants you’re sure to want to apply for. Buying into this one either gives the scammer your credit card information or locks you into a “negative option” deal – illegal in Oregon – that could result in thousands of dollars worth of charges if you fail to or can’t figure out how to cancel it.

Of course, the best advice is always: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. These schemes target people in a time of need, when they are desperately seeking something good to counteract all the bad news. The sad thing is the nature of Internet scamming makes it difficult to catch and hold the culprits accountable, but any of these “phishing” frauds should be reported to the authorities. More important, we need to be proactive and educate ourselves – and our neighbors – to avoid becoming the next victim of these ever-innovative scammers.