A Local Uptick in Scams

By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
NEWPORT- Local residents and law enforcement have seen an uptick in a series of scam calls and emails in recent months.

Whether over the phone or through social media, Fraud Watch has noticed a number of consistencies with each of the scams. Often these calls will come from either someone posing as an agent of a reputable government agency, or even as someone who may be close to you. These scams are often targeting vulnerable members of our communities and particularly senior citizens.

“I’m 70-years-old and I’ve got all my marbles but this one sucked me in,” said a Newport resident who was the victim of a recent scam.

Recently, this Newport resident who has asked to remain anonymous, was contacted via social media by who she believed was a close personal friend. The friend stated that she received a considerable amount of money from the Social Security Administration, and recommended that the Newport resident do the same, claiming that the money was intended to aid widows, and people who qualified for social security.

The Newport resident followed the link that her friend gave her and was contacted by someone posing as Kilolo Kijakazi, the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. The scammer told the Newport resident that, as long as they offered photos of their drivers license and social security card, they would be eligible to receive funds from the SSA. They followed those instructions, and were given follow up instructions to send credit card information to which they declined. After declining, they contacted the Newport Police Department, who claimed that they “had heard about this going around” and instructed the victim as to the next steps to take.

“Investigators here are savvy as far as how a follow up can be conducted in regards to fraudulent calls or emails,” said Interim Newport Police Chief Barry Hunter. “Often looking at the IP address when they come over the internet, to try and determine where they came from is their first step. They also look at a number of other sources of information including phone numbers to see if those numbers have been used in scams before. The New Hampshire State Police Computer Crimes Unit has also been helpful in corroborating and guidance with these issues.”

Recently, the Sunapee Police Department alerted the public to a scam that involved someone “spoofing” their phone number. The Federal Communications Commissions defines spoofing as “a caller deliberately falsifying the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity.” Scam artists were using this tactic to call local residents and threaten jail time for non-payment or non-compliance. These calls were, of course, fabricated to frighten vulnerable members of the population into paying fake fines.

Elliott Greenblott, the AARP Vermont Fraud Watch Coordinator, says that Fraud Watch is seeing an uptick of these types of scams, not only throughout the state, but nationally as well. They have found that the tactic of someone posing as a friend may ask for favors but to be wary of these types of messages. Greenblott also pointed out that the trends of scams are fairly predictable and will tend to follow current events that have negatively affected communities.

“The guys that are doing this aren’t stupid, they watch the news and they know how to manipulate people. When we see hurricane season we see scams regarding people that have lost their homes to a hurricane. When the flooding in Kentucky happened recently there were scams regarding charities that were helping people in Kentucky survive the flooding. It’s the same thing with the recent healthcare legislation that just passed,” Greenblott said.

Should someone receive a message of this type, you are encouraged to immediately delete the message. Fraud Watch has noticed a trend, that should anyone engage with the scammers they will continue to try and establish contact. Anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to one of these recent scams is encouraged to contact the Federal Trade Commission, your local police department and IC3.