the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Midland Park NJ, according to the Midland Park Police ,a Midland Park resident was contacted by a female caller who represented herself as an employee of the IRS. The caller explained to the resident that her identity was being used fraudulently and the resident would have to make a payment for an IRS investigation to begin. The resident informed the female caller she did not understand why the IRS was contacting her and asked for a further explanation. The female caller then informed the resident that she would have someone from the Midland Park Police Department contact her and explain the situation to her. A short time later the resident received a phone call from the Midland Park Police Department main number 201-444-2300, a male who represented himself as Officer James Morris of the Midland Park Police Department advised the resident a monetary payment was needed to further investigate the identity fraud. The original female caller then came back on the phone and instructed the resident to deposit money in to a bitcoin ATM machine located inside of a Ramsey NJ restaurant. The resident was ultimately scammed out of several thousand dollars.
This incident is the first where a scammer spoofed the phone number of the Midland Park Police Department. Officer James Morris does NOT work for the Midland Park Police Department. The Midland Park Police Department does NOT solicit any type of monetary payment for the IRS.
We remind you to NOT send any type of payment with gift cards, bitcoin, or electronic wire services such as Western Union.
If you receive a call which you suspect to be a scam simply hang up the phone. If you are unsure of the authenticity of the call please contact us at 201-444-2300 or contact a trusted family member who can help you determine the authenticity of the call.
