North Shore Scams On The Rise: Warning Signs From Beverly Police

BEVERLY, MA — What might have been obvious to many could not be understood by the man standing in front of Beverly Police Community Impact Supervisor Daniel Brown on this day.

A common lottery scam where a North Shore resident gets a letter saying he or she won $2 million. All that needs to be paid are the taxes and the money is theirs. The resident came to the police at the urging of his wife, who thought it too good to be true.

She was right.

Yet, even though Brown proceeded to run down all the details of the money request without having seen the lottery letter — details he gathered during his 15 years dealing with similar scams — Brown said the man never did hand over the letter.

"He really thought he'd won that $2 million," Brown said. "I don't know if he ever sent them the $400 (for supposed "taxes") or not."

Brown told the Beverly City Council Monday that while spotting a scam may seem easy to many, con artists and grifters are becoming increasingly sophisticated and prey on the very emotions that cloud a person's judgment.

"These are professionals," he said. "This is what they do full-time. They rip people off and they're good at it. They've gotten better at it with social media."

Among the scams he talked about Monday night were the lottery scam, and the "Jury Duty Scam" where an unassuming resident gets a call — usually around the hectic dinner time — and is told they missed jury duty, there is a warrant out for their arrest and they must pay a fine or will get arrested.

He said that is related to the more recent "Grandparent Scam" in which scammers use social media to find out details about a grandson, granddaughter, niece or nephew — including nickname, pet's name and even vacation destination — and use it to try to pry money from a grandparent worried after they are told their loved one has gotten into trouble and needs bail money to avoid spending a weekend in jail.

"We're coming up on the Christmas season when more of these scams seem to come up," Beverly Police Chief John LeLacheur said at the presentation. "Nobody is ever going to call you from the Beverly Police Department and tell you there is a warrant out for your arrest. The IRS doesn't do that. Banks do not call you and ask you to give them your financial information — they already have that.

"And no one is ever, ever, ever going to ask you to pay anything (legitimate) with a gift card. So if someone tells you to go to the grocery store and buy $400 worth of gift cards to pay your utility bill, don't do it."

Yet, still, Brown said many people fall for the scams each year — including the "Singles Scam" in which people meet online and one person asks for money for a sick relative, or to buy a plane or train ticket to visit so they can meet in person. He said this scam is particularly effective because the victim is so emotionally invested in the charade being real.

"We're not telling people not to meet people online," Brown said. "People do that all the time now.

"But do not send money to someone you have not actually met in person."

Brown said, unfortunately, those perpetrating the ruses are rarely caught or face consequences.

"Few and far between because the resources aren't there," he said, noting that it's not viable to track down a scammer in another state and bring the person to Massachusetts for prosecution over a few hundred or couple of thousand dollars. "They know this too. That's why they do it.

"They are anonymous and there is little chance of getting caught."

Brown said he gives a similar presentation throughout the North Shore and is willing to do so for organizations who contact him through the Beverly Police Department. His one overriding message: When in doubt, contact the police before sending any money.

"Call us," he said. "We know all the latest scams that are going on. We're happy to help."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)