Crime & Safety

Hingham Business Loses $1,500 in Scam

The Hingham Police Department is warning residents to look out for this phone scam.

HINGHAM, MA - It's a story that's becoming too familiar. A local restaurant lost $1,500 this week thanks to a phone scam.

On Wednesday, a restaurant in Hingham Square told police they received a call on their business line from someone claiming to be from National Grid. The caller asked for the owner of the business and explained that their electric bill was past due and needed to be paid immediately.

While the owner said their bills were paid on time and asked to have their bookkeeper contact them in the morning, the caller said the electric company had not received any of the past payments and threatened to have the power turned off at 5 p.m. if the bill was not paid, police said.

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The owner offered to pay by electronic check over the phone but the caller said it needed to be paid in cash immediately. The caller told them the nearest MoneyGram was located in CVS in Hingham.

The caller told the owner to call them back when they went to CVS and remain on the phone with them while the payment was made. The owner, believing their power was about to shut off immediately, stayed on the line and wired three $500 payments to the account numbers the caller gave them.

Find out what's happening in Hinghamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The restaurant owner noted the caller ID listed as 1-888-840-9880. This number is different than the customer service number printed on their actual National Grid gas bill and confirmed they had been scammed. The actual electricity is from Hingham Light.

Information in this article is from the Hingham Police Department

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