Re-posting the below info from a few years ago. Earlier this month, an elderly township resident was contacted by person(s) claiming to be from "Microsoft", advising her that her accounts had been "hacked." The scammer(s) convinced the victim to remove money from her bank account, and instructed her to place the cash outside of her residence. The scammer(s) then drove to her residence and picked up the money, which was SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Please, please, please don't fall for any of these scams!

Our department continues to take reports of Fraud involving the victim being directed to purchase gift cards for vendors such as “Google”, “Apple”, etc. The victim is typically contacted via phone or e-mail, or even receives a “pop up” message while using the internet. The victim is told such things as:

• Their computer has been infected with a virus, and the scammer will portray themselves as a technician who can correct the problem remotely for a fee. The victim is asked to provide credit card or bank account information, or to purchase particular gift cards and provide the scammer with the card numbers. To add insult to injury, the scammers are sometimes “nice” enough to help themselves to personal info such as bank account numbers, social security #’s, etc. while remotely logged into the victim’s computer – for later fraudulent activity.
• The victim will receive what appears to be a legitimate e-mail from their employer, directing them to purchase gift cards. The victim is told the gift cards are a surprise for other employees, and not to tell anyone about it. Upon purchasing the gift cards, the victim is asked to provide the scammer with the numbers off of the back of the cards.
• A family member or loved one of the victim is hurt or in trouble with the law. In order to help, the victim is directed to wire money, or purchase gift cards and provide the scammer with the card numbers.
• There is an arrest warrant for the victim, usually from one of the “3 letter” agencies (FBI, DEA, etc.), and in order to make the problem go away the victim needs to wire money, or purchase gift cards and provide the numbers off of the back of the cards.

The above are examples of some of the more common scams that are being reported to us, but there are certainly others. We are seeing that these scammers often target older members of the population, but they will take money from ANYONE who is willing to give it! So, moral of the story – DON’T FALL VICTIM TO THESE SCAMS! Do not ever purchase gift cards at the request of someone who you don’t know. Legitimate companies, or any law enforcement agency, will NEVER contact you and ask you for your personal information (social security #, date of birth, bank account #, credit card #) over the phone, nor will they direct you to wire money or purchase gift cards.

Unfortunately, these scams often originate overseas, so investigation and prosecution of those responsible is often impossible. Remember, once you provide account numbers or gift card numbers, the money is gone!