Ridgewood NJ, If it’s time to renew your vehicle registration or driver’s license, here’s an FYI from the DMV: Imposter websites that promise to handle your paperwork could lead you down a dangerous road. Sites like www.renewregistrations.org disguise themselves as legitimate Department of Motor Vehicles, recently popped up in as many as nine states, all on the East Coast. According to AARP many of these sites have since vanished into cyberspace after warnings by state officials, but new ones may appear.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police report that a Ridge Road resident responded to Ridgewood Police headquarters to report a fraud on April 5th. The victim reported an unknown person contacted her by phone claiming to be a law enforcement officer. The caller reported the victim’s identity was used fraudulently and convinced the victim into purchasing a $500.00 retail store gift card. The victim followed the instructions of the caller and purchased the gift card but realized the call was a scam prior to sending the gift card. The victim reported she will attempt to return the gift card and recover her money.
NEWARK NJ, One of the largest health care fraud schemes investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and prosecuted by the Department of Justice resulted in charges against 24 defendants – seven of whom were charged in the District of New Jersey – including the CEOs, COOs and others associated with five telemedicine companies, the owners of dozens of durable medical equipment (DME) companies and three licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $1.2 billion in loss, as well as the execution of over 80 search warrants in 17 federal districts. In addition, the Center for Medicare Services, Center for Program Integrity (CMS/CPI) announced today that it took adverse administrative action against 130 DME companies that had submitted over $1.7 billion in claims and were paid over $900 million.
Recently, some of our residents have experienced suspicious phone calls, e-mails, etc. where they are ultimately tricked into sending large amounts of money (gift cards, wire transfers, banking information, etc.) to an unknown person.
Some of the victims of these incidents have reported being told that a family member is being held hostage, is in police custody, is being detained, or is sick and in need of emergent assistance. The offender(s) during these incidents will attempt to make the victim feel as if it were an emergency and will possibly make threats that you remain on the telephone with them throughout the entirety of the interaction.
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.
Glen Rock NJ, from the Glen Rock Police department ; We received word that the Hawthorne Police Dept has received many telephone calls at their Police Headquarters reporting that residents are receiving calls from people claiming to be from Social Security, stating there is a problem with thier accounts and they need to contact SS Office, or a Police Officer will call them. This is a SCAM, Social Security is not calling asking for info.
Never provide INFO, please advise friends, family and neighbors especially the elderly as they may be easy target.
Ridgewood NJ, In 2018, the Consumer Sentinel Network has seen a striking increase in the median dollar amount that people 70 and over are saying they lost to fraud. Digging into the data, we found some common stories with an unusual twist: people 70 and older report mailing huge amounts of cash to people who pretended to be their grandchildren.
People 70 and over rarely report to the FTC that they paid a scammer with cash. But for one particular type of fraud – family and friend imposters – fully 25% of people 70 and over who reported to the FTC how they paid money told us they sent cash.
We call these family and friend imposter scams, but you may know them as the “grandparent scam” and with good reason. People 70 and over report that the scammer posed as a grandchild, usually a grandson, about 70% of the time.
The biggest Scam is the massive non conforming concrete Hudson street parking structure planned right across the street from that historic church ; who did little to stop this assault of that neighborhood.Reap what yee shall sow from these out of town developers ..they will be the first ones getting out of
ridgewood with the loot ,leaving taxpayers with the massive liability for Schools , Services and more town employees with pensions ! to service more apartments and children with multi family
developments.Just wait..
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog pulled this off the Ridgewood Moms and Dads page on Facebook , we thought it was important ; “I wanted to give everyone a heads up about something that happened to me today that I think everyone should be aware of. I live on Bogert Avenue between Ponfield and Glen Avenues. A young man came to my door early afternoon, and I believe he had short blonde or dirty blonde hair with piercing blue eyes and he was very lean who was from an extermination company. I believe it’s called Aptiva which was on his gray polo shirt. He was giving me a very hard sell and would not give me a card or brochure and was trying to pressure me to sign up for a service when I already have a service and we had just gotten our grounds sprayed and I told him that. He kept telling me that certain neighbors whose names I had never heard of before were customers already. And his schedule was filling up. I saw no truck in the vicinity, so he was parked somewhere else. And I just have a bad feeling because of how hard he pressed. I’m sorry I didn’t call the police immediately but when I went out shortly I didn’t see him anywhere so I don’t know where he went after me. Just thought everyone should be aware of this guy. He didn’t have a clipboard either, he just had an iPad.”
Several other posters commented that the same thing had happened at their home. We do not know if he is real or not or this is a diversion tactic to case your home . We suggest playing it safe and handle with care by calling the Ridgewood Police (201) 652-3900. Don’t make yourself a victim .
Upper Saddle River NJ, had this passed on by the Upper Saddle River Police department .
A Message from Orange and Rockland Power ,
Orange and Rockland Power: CUSTOMERS BEWARE NEW BILL PAYMENT SCAM ON FACEBOOK
PEARL RIVER, NY May 8, 2018 — O&R warned its customers today about a new phony bill-payment scheme — this time in Spanish on Facebook — in which crooks pose as “consultants” who offer to help customers pay their debts. In reality, the crooks are stealing the customers’ money.
The thieves say on Facebook that if customers wire a percentage of their “electric, cable, cell phone or any utility bill” to the scammers, the crooks will put up the difference to fully pay the bill. The example the phony post uses is if a customer’s bill is $250, the customer can wire the thief $150 and thief will cover the rest.
It looks too good to be true. That’s because it isn’t true. The scammer doesn’t cover the customer’s bill. The scammer steals the customer’s money.
To make things worse, after the customer sends the payment to the scammer, the thieves send the customer a bogus 646 phone number for the customer to call to confirm that their payment was received by the company and the bill was paid in full.
Once again, not true. No payment was made on the account. The thieves stole the customer’s money that was intended to pay the bill, the thieves had no intention of helping retire the debt and the bill still needs to be fully paid.
Don’t let this happen to you.
If you have questions about your O&R bill payment, call O&R Customer Service directly at (877) 434-4100 or email us.
Hackemsack NJ, The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office has been receiving reports of an attempted criminal scam where people are being contacted via telephone by someone claiming to be a member of our agency asking for money to satisfy a warrant for contempt of a Grand Jury appearance. The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office DOES NOT ask for money over the phone. Do not give anyone claiming to be a member of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office any payment over the phone
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police report that a William Street resident reported being the victim of a theft by deception and fraud. The victim reported he was contacted by a party reporting to be from Apple’s fraud department and that his iMac computer was hacked. The victim provided access to his personal computer and was advised to purchase $400 in Apple gift cards. The victim purchased the gift cards and provided the serial numbers to the caller and then realized it was a scam and contacted the police department.
How to Avoid phishing emails, fake ‘virus‘ alerts, phony support calls, and other scams
Use these tips to avoid scams and learn what to do if you think your Apple ID has been compromised.
If you see a message while browsing the web that your iPhone, Mac, or other Apple device has a virus, or someone claiming to be from Apple calls and asks for your account name and password, you’re likely the target of a scam.
Scammers use any means they can—fake emails, pop-up ads, text messages, even phone calls—to try to trick you into sharing personal information, such as your Apple ID password or credit card information. Use this information to protect your account and avoid scams.
Protect your Apple ID
Never share your Apple ID password or temporary verification codes with anyone. Apple will never ask you for this information to provide support.
Use two-factor authentication to protect your Apple ID. Learn more about security and your Apple ID.
If you believe that your Apple ID has been compromised, change your password immediately.
If you see pop-up alerts or ads
When you browse the web, you might see a pop-up ad or a page warning you about a problem with your device. It might even look like the alert is coming from macOS or iOS. It isn’t. These alerts are pop-up ads, designed to trick you into calling a phony support number or buying an app that claims to fix the issue. Don’t call the number. Simply close the pop-up ad, or navigate away from that page and continue browsing.
If you get a suspicious phone call or voicemail
Scammers spoof phone numbers and use flattery and threats to pressure you into giving them information, money, and even iTunes gift cards. Always verify the caller’s identify before you provide any personal information. If you get an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Apple, hang up and contact us directly.
If you receive a phishing email or text message
Scammers try to copy email and text messages from legitimate companies to trick you into entering personal information and passwords. Never follow links or open attachments in suspicious or unsolicited messages. If you need to change or update personal information, contact the company directly.
These signs can help you identify phishing scams:
The sender’s email address or phone number doesn’t match the name of the company that it claims to be from.
Your email address or phone number is different from the one that you gave that company.
The message starts with a generic greeting, like “Dear customer.” Most legitimate companies will include your name in their messages to you.
A link appears to be legitimate but takes you to a website whose URL doesn’t match the address of the company’s website.*
The message looks significantly different from other messages that you’ve received from the company.
The message requests personal information, like a credit card number or account password.
The message is unsolicited and contains an attachment.
Report phishing attempts and other suspicious messages to Apple
To report a suspicious email, forward the message to Apple with complete header information. To forward the email: In macOS Mail, select the email and choose Forward As Attachment from the Message menu at the top of your computer screen.
These email addresses are monitored by Apple, but you might not receive a reply to your report.
If you receive what you believe to be a phishing email that’s designed to look like it’s from Apple, please send it to reportphishing@apple.com.
To report spam or other suspicious emails that you receive in your iCloud.com, me.com, or mac.com Inbox, please send them to abuse@icloud.com.
To report spam or other suspicious messages that you receive through iMessage, tap Report Junk under the message, or take a screenshot on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac and send it to imessage.spam@apple.com.
If you receive a suspicious message about your purchase activity in the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBooks Store, contact iTunes Support.
*To confirm the destination of a link on your Mac, hover your pointer over the link to see the URL in the status bar. If you can’t see the status bar in Safari, choose View>Show Status Bar. On your iOS device, touch and hold the link.
Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Risks are inherent in the use of the Internet. Contact the vendor for additional information. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
IRS Warns of New Phone Scam Involving Bogus Certified Letters; Reminds People to Remain Vigilant Against Scams, Schemes this Summer
IR-2017-107, June 15, 2017
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today warned people to beware of a new scam linked to the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), where fraudsters call to demand an immediate tax payment through a prepaid debit card. This scam is being reported across the country, so taxpayers should be alert to the details.
In the latest twist, the scammer claims to be from the IRS and tells the victim about two certified letters purportedly sent to the taxpayer in the mail but returned as undeliverable. The scam artist then threatens arrest if a payment is not made through a prepaid debit card. The scammer also tells the victim that the card is linked to the EFTPS system when, in fact, it is entirely controlled by the scammer. The victim is also warned not to contact their tax preparer, an attorney or their local IRS office until after the tax payment is made.
“This is a new twist to an old scam,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “Just because tax season is over, scams and schemes do not take the summer off. People should stay vigilant against IRS impersonation scams. People should remember that the first contact they receive from IRS will not be through a random, threatening phone call.”
EFTPS is an automated system for paying federal taxes electronically using the Internet or by phone using the EFTPS Voice Response System. EFTPS is offered free by the U.S. Department of Treasury and does not require the purchase of a prepaid debit card. Since EFTPS is an automated system, taxpayers won’t receive a call from the IRS. In addition, taxpayers have several options for paying a real tax bill and are not required to use a specific one.
Tell Tale Signs of a Scam:
The IRS (and its authorized private collection agencies) will never:
Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. The IRS does not use these methods for tax payments. Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any taxpayer who owes taxes. All tax payments should only be made payable to the U.S. Treasury and checks should never be made payable to third parties.
Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have the taxpayer arrested for not paying.
Demand that taxes be paid without giving the taxpayer the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.
Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
For anyone who doesn’t owe taxes and has no reason to think they do:
Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report the call. Use their IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting web page. Alternatively, call 800-366-4484.
Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the FTC Complaint Assistant on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
For anyone who owes tax or thinks they do:
View your tax account information online at IRS.gov to see the actual amount you owe. You can then also review your payment options.
Call the number on the billing notice, or
Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help.
The IRS does not use email, text messages or social media to discuss personal tax issues, such as those involving bills or refunds. For more information, visit the “Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts” page on IRS.gov. Additional information about tax scams is available on IRS social media sites, including YouTube videos.
Ridgewood NJ, Microsoft account security alert its a scam DO NOT CLICK ON ANYTHING ! Microsoft account team <account-security-noreply@accountprotection.microsoft.com> 6:56 PM (21 minutes ago)
to me Microsoft account Security alert We think that someone else might have accessed the Microsoft account ja*****. When this happens, we require you to verify your identity with a security challenge and then change your password the next time you sign in. If someone else has access to your account, they have your password and might be trying to access your personal information or send junk email. If you haven’t already recovered your account, we can help you do it now. Recover account Learn how to make your account more secure. Thanks, The Microsoft account team
John Brennan , Staff Writer, @BergenBrennanPublished 11:41 a.m. ET May 20, 2017 | Updated 10:47 p.m. ET May 20, 2017
In a move that could turn out to be the trigger for turning the long-dormant American Dream Meadowlands into a reality, project operator Triple Five announced late Friday that it has closed on $1.6 billion in construction financing for the long-stalled project.
The deal is expected to set the stage in the coming days or weeks for a billion-dollar bond issuance that would provide the rest of the funding for the 2.9 million square foot first phase of the entertainment and retail project.
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