Mail-Phone Scam Alert – On Friday, December 5, 2014, Officer Michael Verwey received a report of a possible phone scam which began with a postcard that was received in the mail. The resident stated that he received a postcard in the mail which had his wife’s name specifically listed as having an unclaimed reward of $80 dollars. The card indicated she would receive a $40 dollar Visa Gift Card and $40 dollars in gas savings. Based on the postcard, in order to claim the reward, the recipient of the card was to call a number (1-844-267-7589). The resident called the number and reported that an operator requested his personal information and credit card number. The resident did not provide any information, as he recognized it as a possible attempt to fraudulently obtain credit card information.
Residents are reminded that both mail and telephone scams are now a regular occurrence. The creativity of the scammers seems limitless. Most of their efforts tend to center around obtaining personal identifiers, credit card numbers, and/or the transfer of money. While a vast majority of intended victims quickly recognize the scam attempts, there are still some who do not realize the scam until after they comply with the requests and are victimized. Residents are asked to be very careful and not to relay personal identifiers, credit card numbers, and money transfers in suspicious situations. The most common scam networks are actually international and continue to operate because they have great success in obtaining money through scams in this country. The Lacey Township Police Department has investigated cases in the past in which victims have forwarded tens of thousands of dollars to international scam artists with no way to recover their losses.