Westport Police Warn Of Increase In Bank And Other Scams

WESTPORT, CT — Westport police are warning residents that the department has seen a rise in bank and other scams in recent weeks.

In the past week, alert local bank employees have thwarted at least three attempted scams, one of which is described below.

"The Westport Police Department would like to thank the alert bank employees at our local banking institutions for being alert to these potential scams and asking the appropriate questions to prevent their customers from being victims of fraud," Westport police wrote in a statement.

Authorities offered the following tips to follow to help avoid falling victim to a scam:

• Do not send any money or gift cards to an unknown person.
• Make contact with family who claim to be in danger prior to sending money.
• Call the police if unable to contact family members.
• Report any potential scam.

Below is the description of one of the recent attempted scams in Westport:

Westport Police responded to M & T Bank on a report of a possible scam. Responding officers located a victim in the bank who reported that she received a call from a male advising that he and the victim’s daughter had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. The male claimed to have taken the victim’s daughter hostage and demanded that she withdraw as much money as she could in exchange for the safe return of her daughter. The victim was told not to text anybody or call anyone. In the background, the victim could hear a female voice screaming and crying. The victim went to the bank as instructed and attempted to withdraw all of the money in her account.

An alert bank employee felt that something was wrong as the victim was obviously upset. The bank employee questioned the victim about the withdrawal and immediately recognized it to be a scam. The bank contacted the Westport Police Department, we responded and ultimately had the victim contact her daughter who advised that she was fine and at work.