By MIKE CORN

mcorn@dailynews.net

'Tis the season for giving, but Ellis County Sheriff Ed Harbin would much rather see people giving gifts to friends and relatives instead of crooks who use deceit and fear to prey on people's pocketbooks.

Harbin said the area is awash with scams, ranging from the tried and not-so-true to the latest round involving a phone call from an alleged FBI agent who claims to need Social Security numbers and cash to prevent all sorts of upcoming problems.

"I just can't believe how widespread they're getting," he said. "It's just amazing how many people you talk to that have gotten an e-mail or text message."

One of the messages circulating now purportedly comes from the FBI, alerting a person he or she is going to either be arrested or a jury trial is coming up that the person needs to be at.

Naturally, the messenger needs Social Security numbers to ensure nothing bad happens.

And just as naturally, it's a bogus claim.

The FBI, Harbin said, is not going to call someone to alert them they're going to be arrested. Instead, they simply make the arrest.

There's also the "hit-man" scam running around.

In that one, people get a phone call from a supposed professional killer who says someone has hired him to kill the person he is calling.

Of course, for a little bit more money than initially was paid, the caring killer is willing to simply forget about the contract.

It, of course, is just as bogus as the FBI claim.

"They're just rampant more and more," Harbin said of the scams.

Caution and skepticism will help protect people from being scammed.

"People need to be made aware and check things out before sending money," he said.

Even knowing where the e-mail, call or letter is coming from will help.

"A lot of this comes out of Canada or Nigeria," he said, and that should send up a red flag immediately.

Harbin said people need to be fully aware of what is taking place long before they send in any money.

"If you have questions," he said, "let us check it out."

There also are Web sites that track the latest round of scams. One is scambusters.org and the other is www.ccmostwanted.com, dealing with cyber criminals.

In every case, Harbin said, people need to view many of the latest and greatest offers with a good deal of skepticism.

"Some of these things sound too good to be true," he said. "And they probably are."