The DeKalb Police Department is reminding citizens of a number of frauds occurring in the city.

While there are six prominent types of fraud, the “gypsy” scam has occurred most recently, said Lt. Jim Kayes of the DeKalb police.

The south side of DeKalb was targeted Tuesday at around 2:15 p.m.. The suspect was driving a dark blue-panel van and would knock on doors, claiming he needed to check the would-be victim’s water. He then asked the elderly victim for change for $100.

This ruse is designed to have the victim show the thief where the money is kept, Kayes said. The suspect also tried to get the victim to go down to the basement. The suspects were not successful in obtaining any of the victim’s belongings.

Kayes said the victims in this scam are usually elderly.

“It’s important that neighbors look out for them,” Kayes said. “People should also keep their doors locked. [The suspects] will just walk into the house and if they get caught they’ll act confused or lost or pretend they can’t speak English or even just ask for water.”

Kayes said the offenders are usually Eastern Europeans and are prominently found in the suburbs of Chicago and have enclaves in South Carolina.

Other notable scams that have been occurring are the lottery scam, overpayment scam, advance fee fraud, eBay and e-mail.

An overpayment scam happens when a product is sold and the buyer overpays the amount due. The seller becomes the victim when the buyer asks for the over-amount back.

“Once you sent back the money, you’ll never hear from them again,” Kayes said. “And of course, the check is no good.”

E-mail scams are happening more frequently with the advancement of technology.

“With computers and the Internet, it’s so easy to counterfeit and connect with people,” Kayes said. “If you send out one thousand e-mails, you’ll have at least 10 people.”

“[The suspects] are making a lot of money,” Kayes said. “There are huge dollar amounts lost to these people with little amounts of work.”

Kayes said to use common sense when dealing with something that might be too good to be true, either online or in the real world.

“People get greedy and they don’t think,” Kayes said.