National Consumer Protection Week is coming up, and the good folks over at the NCPW Blog are posting consumer tips on how to protect yourself against the increasing number of ways scammers are trying to get them to part with their money.

The latest blog post from NPCW deals with a refugee scam targeting former Bhutan nationals now residing in the USA –

Here’s the scam: Someone calls a recently-resettled refugee from Bhutan. The scammer says he’s from the “Federal Grants Department” in Washington, DC, and seems to be calling from a DC-area phone number. He claims that the person he’s talking to is eligible to receive $10,000 because they’re a refugee from Bhutan. The scammer also says that the refugee must send a money order for $650 before they can claim the $10,000.

Unfortunately, people have gotten hurt by this scam. At least one refugee paid nearly $5,000 for what the scammer called “processing fees.” How can you steer clear of scams like this?

via Money for Resettled Refugees?? – National Consumer Protection Week 2012.

Support the efforts of National Consumer Protection Week by visiting their blog and learning more about how you can protect yourself against scammers.