Naperville Warns Residents Of Telephone Scams

NAPERVILLE, IL — Officials in Naperville are warning residents to be on the lookout for different telephone scams that fraudsters use to try to get money from their victims. Naperville Police Department consistently gets reports of phone scams and fraudulent calls, officials said in a post on the city's website. From utility disconnection scams to so-called "grandparent scams," here's what to watch out for and how to protect yourself from becoming a victim.

Grandparent Scam

Scammers target elderly residents and pretend to be a grandchild in this prevalent phone scam. Often the scammers are known as spoofers because they can even make it appear as if they're calling from a child or grandchild's phone number. This method plays on the emotions of concerned grandparents and parents, with spoofers pretending to be a child who is in trouble and needs financial help.

If you get a call like this, hang up and attempt to call your grandchild or child from the contacts list in your phone. Alternatively, grandparents can call a parent or guardian to verify the validity of the call, police suggest.

Utility Bill/IRS/Collection Agency Scam

If you get a call from a utility company, a collection agency, or the IRS demanding money, take that as a red flag. Police say scammers may call from a number that shows up as the IRS or an electrical, cable, gas, or other utility company. In these cases, the fraudster usually says the victim owes back payments and may even threaten jail time if money is not sent.

Police warn residents to take caution in instances like this. For one, the IRS says it will not call you demanding money. If you get a call from a purported utility company asking you to send money, hang up and call the company at its official phone number instead of calling back the number the call came from.

Kidnapping Scam

This terrifying scam taps into a parent's worst fear by faking a kidnapping and demanding ransom money, police say. Often, the caller will say they have the victim's child and won't return the child until the money is wired to them.

In this scenario, Naperville Police recommend using extreme caution, as the caller might use personal information to try to fool you. They suggest asking several detailed questions to try to thwart the scammer .

Another similar scam known as the arresting scam involves the caller pretending to be a loved one who has been arrested and needs cash to get out.

Some common takeaways from these scams include never giving out personal information over the phone unless you've called the utility company, bank, or other organization yourself. If you're speaking from someone who says they are from a company and is asking for personal information, hang up and attempt to call them back at an official phone number you can usually find online.

Visit the City of Naperville website for more information on common phone scams and how to thwart the scammers.

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