photo by Boyd Loving
Ridgewood Police Issue Crime Prevention SCAM ALERT
April 17,2013
Ridgewood NJ, Over the past week, several residents of surrounding towns have fallen victim to “The Grandparent Scam”. In both cases, the victims received a telephone call from someone they believed to be their grandchild. The first caller claimed to have been involved in a car accident and arrested in Mexico and needed $1,700 for bail. The grandfather sent the money via Western Union to an address in Mexico. After sending the money, the victim was able to make contact with his grandson and learned that he was never arrested in Mexico.
The other call was from a “grandson” who stated that he was in Haiti for a charity project for his school. He claimed to have been arrested and needed money for bail. That particular victim sent more than $5,800.00 only to find out that his grandson was at his college in Florida and never arrested in Haiti. The callers in these scams are very believable and are very good at convincing the victim that they are their grandchild. For more information on this, visit the FBI website at https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/april/grandparent_040212
A new “PSE&G Payment Scam” has emerged this year. An individual claiming to be from PSE&G calls customers and tells them that their services will be disconnected if they do not make a payment using a MoneyPak card. The scammer will then transfer the funds to a prepaid card and withdraw cash at an ATM. PSE&G will never demand that accounts be paid with MoneyPak cards. For more information on this scam, go to https://www.pseg.com/info/media/newsreleases/2013/2013-02-13.jsp
If you believe you have been the victim of a scam or had someone attempt to victimize you, please report this to your local police department. Additionally please take the time to discuss these scams with your friends and relatives, especially those who may not have access to e-mail.
In related news, fools and money are soon parted.