Recently a distraught citizen came to the Cumru Township Police Station due to a phone conversation they were actively having with someone claiming to be a member of the Cumru Township Police Department. This individual was telling the citizen that there was an issue with their bank accounts and actions needed to be taken immediately in order to avoid federal arrest warrants and criminal charges being placed against them.
This was a SCAM and the scamming criminals on the other end of the phone were attempting to have the citizen provide and relinquish bank account information in order to steal their hard earned money.
These criminals do their homework and research prior to making these scam calls. They have information about you that was either found on the web or stolen from somewhere. They even “spoof” phone numbers so that your caller ID is showing a false number. In the above incident, they spoofed the Cumru Township Administration phone number to make it appear that the caller was calling from the Township office building!
These scammers are very convincing and sound legitimate, but they are not! Always verify who you are speaking to and NEVER give bank account information to anyone who calls you. In this incident, the citizen did the right thing by coming to the police station so they could see that the person on the other end of the phone was not who they were claiming to be.
Below are just a few handy tips to keep in mind:
- The federal, state, or local government will never call you and demand your bank account information over the phone in order to avoid any criminal activity.
- Criminals can spoof phone numbers so do not trust caller ID.
- Don’t fall into the trap of thinking these calls are legitimate because they have some information about you.
- Do not let these scammers threaten you over the phone. Hang up on them. They believe the longer they can keep you on the phone, the better their chances are of getting your bank account information.
When in doubt seek out a Police Officer and ask for advice.
Wishing you a safe and scam-free holiday season!
Police Chief Madison Winchester
