STATE OF VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE PRESS RELEASE
Phone Scam and Fraud Alert
Lt. Mark Lauer, Vermont State Police - 802-872-6111
Waterbury, VT - 09/22/2011 – Several Vermont law enforcement agencies have been investigating numerous phone scams. At this time, there are several reported incidents, they tend to fall into one of three types of scams: lottery/winnings, home security, or debt collector/money fraud. The targeted victim’s profile vary by scam, but the victims all report the fraudulent caller as having a heavy accent and, in several incidents, threatening and hostile. Due to the increasing frequency and similarities of these scams, the public should be aware of the issue and report any incidents they feel are inappropriate to their local Law enforcement agency.
We encourage citizens to protect themselves against fraud, and visit the Federal Trade Center’s website on phone fraud:
http://www.ftc.gov/phonefraud to learn how to:
· Recognize the most common telemarketing scams.
· Report phone fraud, providing important information to help law enforcement officials bring scammers to justice.
· Register your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry.
LOTTERY/WINNINGS SCAM
Elderly victims have been contacted via telephone by individuals claiming to be from a lottery-type organization. There are several variations of this scam, but in it, the victims are being told they have won a prize and in order to receive it, they must pay the taxes and shipping. The victims are then told to send the money via Western Union, wire transfer through a third party, or pre-paid cash cards. The individuals then intimidate the victims into becoming third party recipients of these transfers for other victims. In one incident, the victim received an email notifying her of her winnings first and then began receiving phone calls requesting her to send money out-of-state to obtain her prizes. (Source: Vermont State Police – St. Johnsbury & Lyndonville Police Department)
HOME SECURITY SCAM
Victims are receiving phone calls from individuals claiming to be with GE Security. Details varied in the calls, but in all, the victims were informed they could receive a free security system. The individuals are asking for the victim’s personal information and credit card information for initial deposits. (Source: Richmond Police Department & Vermont State Police – Brattleboro)
DEBT COLLECTOR/MONEY FRAUD
This is a nation-wide fraud scheme specifically targeting victims who have obtained a “payday loan” online from a company located outside the U.S. The victim obtains the loan and shortly thereafter, receives numerous calls from an individual claiming to be a debt collector and has details of the victim’s personal information. The callers identify themselves with various titles (e.g. investigator, officer) and claim they work for legal or collection firms with variations of “Anderson Legal” or “American Legal.” The victims are threatened with legal consequences including arrest by law enforcement. In a similar scam, the victim is contacted by an “attorney” advising s/he is being charged with money fraud and has an active lawsuit against him/her. The “attorney” has the victim’s bank account information already and advises the victim to send a cash settlement to dismiss the lawsuit. When refused, the “attorney” becomes threatening and tells the victim he is going to his/her house to collect the money. (Source: Federal Protective Service & Lyndonville Police Department)
