An alert Morristown police officer saved a Dover man from being taken in by a phone scam, reports Lt. Stu Greer, who is advising residents to beware of callers posing as representatives of the IRS or utility companies.
These bogus callers tell people they have delinquent accounts that must be paid immediately using Green Dot Money-Paks. Here are more details.
FROM THE MORRISTOWN POLICE:
ALERT OFFICER PREVENTS A FRAUDULENT THEFT OF MONEY FROM
AN ONGOING TELEPHONE UTILITY SCAM
On Thursday, September 4th, 2014, Officer James Krauss was working his regular shift in uniform, patrolling the streets of Morristown when he observed a suspicious situation. Officer Krauss had stopped in to the 7-11 convenience store at 66 Morris Street when he noted a man buying several Green Dot Money-Pak cash cards. Although this is a common occurrence, Officer Krauss become suspicious when he noted that the man had a large amount of cash and had bought over $1500 in money cards. Officer Krauss was aware that there has been a recent surge of phone scams where victims received telephone calls from people asserting that they represent either the I.R.S. or a utility company. In those scams, the victims have been told that they must make an immediate payment for a delinquent account and have been instructed to purchase Green Dot Money-Paks to send the payment.
Based upon this knowledge, Officer Krauss made contact with the man who confirmed that he had been contacted by phone earlier that morning. The victim, a 51 year old male from Dover, advised that the telephone caller reported he owed money to JCP&L for a property that he owned. The victim was instructed to purchase the Green Dot Money-Paks to send payment and was advised that if payment was not received in the next 30 minutes, the power would be shut off to his building. As a result of Officer Krauss’s intervention, the victim did not send any payment and a potential theft was averted. At the victim’s request, his identity is being withheld by the Morristown Police but as this could happen to anyone, it was determined that this information should be released.
This release is being sent out to commend the quick thinking of Officer Krauss and to once again alert residents about the potential for telephone scams. This particular scam has been taking place nationwide but it is still important that the information is shared. According to a 2014 news release from JCP&L:
“Customers should know that if they get a call from someone demanding payment of their electric bill by using a Green Dot card they are being scammed and should report the crime to local authorities,” said Anthony Hurley, JCP&L vice president of Operations. “While a company representative may phone a customer whose bill is in arrears to remind them that a payment is due, we would explain how a payment can be made using established payment options.”
Any customer who has doubts about a call from someone claiming to be from JCP&L, especially one demanding immediate payment, should call JCP&L’s customer service number at 1-800-662-3115.” Source: FirstEnergyCorp.com
Anyone who has been contacted by such a caller is asked to contact police to report the incident at 973-538-2200. In addition, residents are asked to share this information with neighbors and friends so that we can stop future incidents from taking place.
A flyer from the Federal Trade Commission containing tips for preventing telephone scams is attached to this news release.
A fool and his money are soon parted.