We would like to notify the community that we have received numerous citizen complaints over the past few months of several different telephone scams. These citizen complaints are not unique to Lincoln, as neighboring communities are fielding similar complaints. Several of these scams are specifically targeting the elderly community. Some of the scams that we and neighboring police departments have received are as follows:
1. A person calls reporting that they are calling from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and they’re demanding money for back taxes be paid immediately by wire transferring money from their bank account. In some cases the scammers are telling citizens that they have warrants out for their arrest and the money needs to be paid or they’re going to be arrested. The scammers are using “spoofed” phone numbers which allows them to use a computer phone program in which they can select a specific phone number. The scammer usually chooses a local number which appears on the citizen’s Caller ID. The citizen assumes it’s a local number and it’s a legitimate phone call. In one case the scam caller spoofed a local government phone number.
2. A person calls reporting that they’re calling from out of the country and they’re grandchild has been arrested and is sitting in a foreign jail, or they’ve been involved in a motor vehicle crash. In order to get out of jail, or out of the country they need money wire transferred or cash needs to be sent immediately via overnight mail to a specific address.
It is important to know that the I.R.S., and other government entities will never call citizens directly demanding money. They will send their correspondence through the mail. The most important thing is DO NOT provide any personal information to anyone over the phone such as your social security number, bank numbers, credit card number, or your date of birth. If you’re offered a “deal” over the phone or through the mail that seems too good to be true, it is. All these deals require the citizen to provide personal information. If you have provided your personal information, bank or credit card numbers immediately notify the bank or the credit card company. You also want to do a credit check of your personal information using one of the credit monitoring companies, Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. It is also a good idea to put a Fraud Alert on your credit.
Please call the Lincoln Police Department and report any suspicious calls of this nature.
