Fraud, Identity Theft In Nutley; Police Recap Latest Incidents

NUTLEY, NJ — Cases of fraud and identity theft continue to be reported in Nutley, police say.

On Tuesday, the Nutley Police Department released details about the latest round of incidents in the township. They included:

Feb. 5 - "Headquarters received a report of fraud. The victim stated that they received a text message to contact their financial institution’s customer service regarding a pending purchase, which they declined, and was provided a false claim number. While on the phone during that call, the victim checked their account and found several fraudulent withdrawals from various ATMs in NY pending and a pending purchase. The financial institution was contacted by the victim and explained the incident and cancelled their debit card and all their other accounts as well."

Feb. 5 – "Headquarters received a report of identity theft from the victim who stated they received a letter from American Express that their credit limit had been reduced due to the victim’s poor credit score. Upon checking with the credit bureau, they found that an actor(s) had opened approximately 21 accounts all with outstanding balances totaling more than $250,000. A list of all the accounts and their balances were recorded. The victim stated they did not open any of the created accounts. They were advised to contact the credit bureaus, financial institutions, and Social Security to advise them of the incidents."

Feb. 7 - "The victim of fraud reported their incident to police explaining they had applied for a job through LinkedIn and was contacted by a firm in the state of Washington. Several email correspondences were received from the contact, who ultimately hired the victim and sent two checks valued at $2,450 in total. They instructed the victim to deposit the checks and then purchase the necessary equipment for the job using Zelle. After the purchases were made, the bank notified the victim that the deposited checks were fraudulent. Upon contacting the company directly, the victim was advised that they were hacked, and several other people were sent the same correspondence. The company did report the incident to their local police department, which was confirmed by Nutley officers."

Feb. 8 – "The victim of a fraud reported the incident to headquarters. There were several checks found on their bank statement that the victim did not authorize or write. The 12 check numbers used were found in the victim’s checkbook, which they have in their possession. The bank was already advised and are pursuing the matter."

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