Portsmouth Police Issue Fraud Alert

The Portsmouth Police Department has received numerous complaints from residents regarding ongoing scams. There are a large variety of ongoing scams occurring on a daily basis throughout the United States and internationally. These scams can be solicited in person, on the telephone, or through electronic devices (computers, smart phones, etc.). Some of the more common scams, include the following:

Paving/Contractor, Telemarketer, Door to Door Salesman, Sweepstakes/Lottery, Health/Life Insurance, Social Security Fraud, IRS taxes, Funeral/Cemetery, Online Dating, Counterfeit Checks, Nigerian Letters, Reverse Mortgage, Investment Schemes, Grand Jury Subpoena, and that you have a “Relative in Jail” who needs bail money.

The Portsmouth Police recommend the following safety tips for residents in order to protect themselves from possible fraudulent activity:

If you receive a suspicious phone call, TELL the person not to contact you by phone, and that if they continue to call you, then you will notify the Police. Then HANG UP. You can also call the “DO NOT CALL REGISTRY 1-888-382-1222 or visit www.donotcall.gov” to reduce unwanted solicitation phone calls.

USE an online search engine (Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc.) to look up the soliciting company (business, person, etc.) information to help determine if they are legitimate or not.

BLOCK the phone number. Most cellular phones have this feature, if not, contact your telephone service provider.

If someone says they are calling you from a jail because your relative needs bail money, CALL the jail to confirm. Or call your local police department and ask them to confirm the validity of the call for you.

DO NOT open any unsolicited emails or attachments if they are not from a familiar or trusted source, or if they contain suspicious subject lines or no subject line at all, even if they are from a recognized sender.

BEWARE of emails that link to a website that lacks details about who is running a company, where it is based, or if does not list a phone number for that company.

NEVER provide any personal information such as your social security number or date of birth, and never provide any financial information (banking, credit card, etc.) without verifying the person with whom you are communicating.

NEVER deposit suspicious or unexpected funds into your account. (YOU are responsible for the checks you deposit.)

CALL or visit the bank which the check is written to in order to determine its authenticity before accepting or depositing the check. Or to look up a bank’s official web site or address, visit:

www.2.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asap

IF you did not PLAY the lottery, then you probably did not WIN the lottery.

NEVER wire funds to, or from strangers. Make sure you know the person very well before sending, or receiving money through a wire service like Western Union or MoneyGram.

CHECK your bank/credit card statements on a regular basis. Also periodically check your credit report. You can check your credit report for free at www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.

OPT out of unwanted delivered mail and credit card offers at www.directmail.com and www.optoutprescreen.com.

PLEASE KNOW THAT CRIMINALS DO NOT DISCRIMINATE, AND THEY WILL TARGET ANYONE WHO THEY THINK THEY CAN GET MONEY FROM!!!

If you suspect you are the victim of a fraud, then please contact your local police department or the following agencies that correspond to the type of scam you are a victim of:

GENERAL SCAMS:

NH Attorney General Consumer Protection/Antitrust Bureau:

1-888-468-4454

www.doj.nh.gov

IRS TAX & IDENTITY FRAUD

Federal Trade Commission:

(202) 326-2222

www.ftc.gov

SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD:

Office of the Inspector General Social Security Administration

1-800-269-0271

www.oig.ssa.gov/report

INTERNET BASED SCAMS:

Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center

(202) 324-3000

www.ic3.gov

MAIL BASED SCAMS:

United States Postal Inspection Service

(888) 877-7644

www.postalinspectors.uspis.gov

If you would like additional information on Fraud Protection or Senior Safety Crime Prevention Tips, please contact P.O.P. Detective Rochelle Jones at (603) 610-7503 or rjones@cityofportsmouth.com