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Atlantic Police Chief issues another reminder about scams

News

December 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green is reminding area residents, especially those who are elderly, about the numerous, ongoing telephone scams that continue to circulate. Green says in recent weeks, the scams have been escalating to the point that the Police Dept. is receiving several complaints per week.

Green says two of the most frequent types of calls claim to be from either the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), or, from Publishers Clearing House (PCH). Some of the calls are automated. The Chief wants to stress that neither PCH nor the IRS will call you to tell you about prizes won or taxes owed. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should give provide any personal or financial information to the caller, nor should you send cash or money orders to persons who have called demanding payment for those types of services and others.

The only true way to handle the calls, is to HANG UP. Any new calls should either not be answered if they show up as being from the same number, or if your caller ID show no numbers, then don’t answer, or hang up. The scammers on the other end of the line are experts at trying to gain your confidence or compliance by tempting you to win prizes or threatening you with arrest.

Green says the P-D is aware of the scams, and individual reports to police are not necessary. He says it’s especially important that you sit down with elderly family members or friends and explain to them they may be receiving the scam calls, because those persons are most often targeted for exploitation of their finances and personal information.