The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase in phone scams occurring throughout Cumberland County. A common scam that is becoming more frequent is a caller impersonating a police officer claiming that the victim failed to appear for grand jury or other court proceedings. The victim is then told that if he/she does not send a money order or gift card(s) to a certain address they will be arrested. Police Officers will NEVER call requesting an individual pay off court commitments with money orders or gift card(s).
A second scam that is becoming more common is predicated on Medicare. The scammer does research on their intended “targets” and then calls the victim. The scammer typically knows a great deal about the victim and then mentions that they have overpaid on their Medicare service. The scammer advises the victim that they want to reimburse them and requests a bank account number so the scammer can deposit a check.
There is a follow up call later, usually by a female, who is crying and claims that she made a mistake and put too much money back into the victim’s bank account. The scammer pleas for assistance as they have kids and they will likely be fired if they don’t get the alleged “over payment” resolved. The scammer then requests that the victim send a check for the alleged difference, which is generally a large amount, to a fictitious address. Once the money or check is mailed by the victim then the money is gone and typically not retrievable. Any alleged checks mailed by the scammer to the victim directly, a bank, or allegedly direct deposited into the bank is a worthless check.
Everyone is encouraged to slow down, and verify any unsolicited requests for money, credit card numbers, social security numbers or gift cards.