Middletown police are warning residents of scams being reported in the township.
Police said on Friday that at least 20 complaints about an “IRS scam” came into the police department.
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Here’s the information released by police:
The victims receive a call and are told they owe back taxes, fees and/or fines to the IRS, and if they do not make an immediate payment they will be arrested. In most cases, the victims are instructed to make immediate payment using a Green Dot MoneyPak card. The callers often become abusive or threatening with the victims. In one incident reported to our department, the victim received a telephone call from someone claiming to be a police officer after they refused to comply. The name and number that appeared on the victim’s Caller-ID was that of a local police department, but had obviously been “spoofed”.
Since January 1, 2014, our department has received at least twenty complaints regarding the IRS scam. A large number of complaints have been received during the last three weeks. These calls originate in foreign countries which makes prosecution nearly impossible, especially for local police departments. As a result, educating the public is the most effective way to combat these crimes.
Another scam we are seeing a lot is the Grandparents Scam. The elderly victims receive a frantic telephone call from someone posing as their grandchild. The grandchild claims to have been arrested and in need of immediate bail money. We have received quite a few of these complaints as well.
