[Cp-bulletin] Phone Scams

[Cheryl N Vossmer]

November 3, 2014
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE

MIT, Cambridge and Lexington Police are issuing the following alert.
Most recently many people affiliated with MIT and the surrounding communities are being targeted by phone scammers.

DO NOT go to a store and buy hundreds of dollars' worth of prepaid money cards. Once you provide the scammer with the number you will most likely never, ever see the money again.

Please do not provide any information to these callers. Please file a report with the FTC - information at the bottom of this email.

Sgt. Cheryl Vossmer
MIT Police
617-253-1212


**********FRAUD ALERT ***************FRAUD ALERT******************Issued by Lexington Police Department, November 3, 2014
Over the weekend, Lexington residents received phone calls that the Middlesex Sherriff's Office was holding a warrant pending payment of a fine. The resident was then encouraged to go to CVS, Walgreens or a similar store to buy cash cards. These are then phoned in to cover the "fine". Today, we have learned that residents are being told that the Lexington Police Department is holding a warrant. The caller ID is giving our business number "781-862-1212.

The Police Department is considering more significant steps to alert the public. We will look at the website and potentially Code Red to notify the public of this scam. We will also be reaching out to stores that sell these cards and ask for their assistance.

Please advise friends and family. Businesses and government do not do business in this way. If you are being asked to phone in a gift or cash card, call the Police Department.

Thank you.
Chief Mark Corr
Lexington PD

Current Trends in Phone Scams - Be Alert and Aware
10/2/2014
Detective Brian O'Connor - Cambridge Police Department, Financial and Computer Crimes
The phone rings and a phone number you do not recognize shows up on the caller ID. You pick up the phone and say hello. The voice on the other end of the line says that a family member has been in an accident and they will cause harm to them unless you send money, which will guarantee their safety.  What do you do?  This is only one of the many current phone scams that are plaguing U.S. residents every day.
Phone scams are a multi-million dollar business for scammers, who mostly reside outside of the United States.  With new scams popping up every day, trying to keep up with the current ones and the technology is difficult.  Caller IDs may or may not show a real number, as scammers are taking to technology and using Caller ID spoofing to make their phone number appear as a legitimate number, like 911 or a police department.
The following is an overview of some of the current phone scams, which have been recently reported to the Cambridge Police and neighboring police departments:
TAX MONEY OWED TO THE IRS
One of the largest scams at this time is an IRS tax-fee scam.  This scam involves an individual receiving a phone call from a person claiming to be a federal agent with the IRS.  The individual will usually know the person's name and will claim that they owe money in back taxes.  The scammer will inform the person that if they do not pay their tax fees either by wiring money or using a pre-paid money card, they will be arrested.  The caller ID will generally show as a Washington, DC (202) area code, and may even show up as the IRS.  The IRS has issued alerts that they do not contact individuals via telephone for owed taxes.
FAMILY MEMBER IN AN ACCIDENT
Another scam involves an individual who calls a person and states that a relative of theirs has been involved in an accident.  The individual knows the identity of the person who "was in the accident" and uses threats and anger to try to convince the person being called that they will harm the relative.  The caller will generally make the person stay on the phone while they go to a local store and purchase pre-paid money cards or wire money to the scammer.
MICROSOFT COMPUTER ISSUE
You may receive a phone call from an individual who states that they are from Microsoft and that there is an issue with your computer.  The scammer will try to convince the person to go onto their computer and visit a particular website.  By visiting this website, the user runs the risk of downloading malware or viruses to their computer, which would allow a criminal to have access to the information on the computer or use your computer's IP address to hide their identity.
UTILITY COMPANY FEES
You could receive a phone call from a utility company stating that you owe money and, if you don't immediately pay it off, your utility service will be shut off.  This scam has been seen mainly with business customers.  The scammer will request the business purchase pre-paid cards and provide the number to the scammer to keep their utilities on.
IMMIGRATION WARRANT OR ARREST WARRANT
You may receive a phone call from an individual claiming to be an agent of the Federal Government or a police department and they inform you of an immigration violation or an arrest warrant.  The individual may then request you purchase pre-paid money cards or wire funds to clear up your warrant or violation.
THE MYSTERIOUS TEXT MESSAGE FROM A BANK
You could receive a text message from an unknown number stating that verification is needed on your account (bank or credit card).  The scammers are hoping that people will contact the phone number provided in the text and provide information, which will result in unauthorized debits to your bank account or credit card.  If you receive a text message from a financial institution, contact your bank at their customer service number and speak to a customer service representative.

These are just a few examples of the many phone scams, which are being seen across the United States.  Once you provide a scammer with a pre-paid money card number, the chance of you recovering the money is very slim.  If you have doubts about a phone call you received, contact the company or organization who "allegedly" called.  If you receive any calls mentioned in this article (or anything suspicious), please hang up and contact the Cambridge Police (617-349-3300).

If you have any questions about scams you can contact
Detective Brian O'Connor, CFCI
boconnor at cambridgepolice.org<mailto:boconnor at cambridgepolice.org>

MIT Police Crime Alert  Bulletin

Issued: February 24, 2014

INCIDENT
On Monday, February 24, 2014 an MIT student was the victim of a telephone scam stating her brother was involved in a motor vehicle accident and that they wanted $2,000 for their nephew who was injured in the accident or they would kill her brother. The victim believed the caller and followed instructions, purchasing a large amount of prepaid phone cards.

SUMMARY
The victim states when her cell phone rang, she answered it and a male caller stated he had her brother and if she didn't help them they would "kill" her brother. NOTE: her brother is fine when he was reached later.

SUSPECT
There are no suspects at this time.

SUGGESTIONS
Be sure you know who is calling you before you answer a call.

Don't give information to strangers. Hang up and call your relative who is in danger, call other family members, but don't give information to total strangers.

Limit the amount of information you post on social media.

Persons who may have received such a call in the recent past are asked to call their local police to file a report. Anyone who receives such a call in the future should call MIT Police at 617-253-1212 if you're on campus, or 911 immediately if off campus.

According to the FTC
Everyone's a potential target. Fraud isn't limited to race, ethnic background, gender, age, education, or income.

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0076-phone-scams
Scammers now instead of wiring money,  are telling people to use GreenDot, buy a prepaid gift card, or use PayPal to pay them. It lets them get your money in a way that doesn't let you ever get it back. And that call that looked like the right number? Scammers can use computers to make it look like they're calling from one place - when, really, they're someplace else.

So, if you ever get a call saying you need to pay someone via PayPal, or buy a GreenDot card or a gift card: Stop. Chances are, that's a scam. Call your utility company - for example - on a number you know to be correct. (Check your bill - it will list one.) Tell them what happened and see what they say. And then report the scammers to the Federal Trade Commission<http://www.ftc.gov/complaint>: 1-877-FTC-HELP, so we can try to shut them down.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley warned of the "Kidnap Scam" in January 23, 2014 and states: "If a loved one is in danger, police can help," Conley said. "In almost every case like this that we've seen, the danger is imaginary-but the financial losses are very real and can't be recovered." http://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/press-office/press-releases/press-releases-2014/da-conley-warns-of-kidnap-scam/


Sgt. Cheryl Vossmer
MIT Police
617-253-1212

http://police.mit.edu/

https://twitter.com/MITPolice

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MIT-Police/<https://www.facebook.com/pages/MIT-Police/1428875867332756?ref=hl>





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