For Immediate Release
Contact: Detective Sergeant Arthur Brillon Telephone: 774-203-1881
Date: August 14, 2014
The Attleboro Police Department is reminding residents to be cautious of telephone scams or solicitors who ask for personal information. Although the police department regularly receives complaints from residents about suspicious or fraudulent telephone solicitations, there has been an increase in the number of cases reported.
In several incidents, the caller identified him/herself as an employee of the Internal Revenue Service. In other such calls, the caller identified him/herself as an employee of a bank, public utility service or collection agency. In these calls, the resident is asked for information including their date of birth, their social security number, their bank account or routing number, etc..
In a similar telephone scam, a resident from Attleboro allowed access to her computer remotely after receiving a phone call from someone stating she had a virus and offering to help repair the problem. The resident quickly unplugged her computer from the internet after becoming suspicious and contacting the Attleboro Police department.
Fortunately for the resident(s) in these recent cases, they became suspicious and did not send money. In one Attleboro case, the resident depended on sense of hearing and heard background noise and conversation that made them suspicious at which time they voided a pending transaction.
Residents are reminded to avoid providing any personal information over the telephone. On method to help residents lessen their chances of being scammed is by asking for a call-back number so they can call and verify the call’s legitimacy.
Should a resident become suspicious of a telephone solicitation or request for personal information, they should contact the police department for further instructions or suggestions.