According to Tonganoxie police officer Bob Koontz, a local resident met someone online who said he was a U.S. citizen who was overseas and unable to access his money. The man asked the local resident if they would cash a money order for him, saying the resident could keep some of the money for their trouble.

But the money order turned out to be fake — and, here’s the kicker, the person who cashes the money order is responsible for making that money up to the bank.

“That comes out of your bank account because you’re the one who cashed them,” Koontz said.

The local resident who was a victim actually cashed three money orders, totaling nearly $3,000.

“I would like people to know there are some scams going on, and the Internet is not a good place to find a friend that you can actually trust,” Koontz said.

“I just don’t want this to happen again in our town.”