Nutley Victim Gets Strange Scam Phone Calls: Police

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley police say that a local resident was almost victimized by a strange scam attempt that involved a teen that "tried to commit suicide" and an alleged police officer from South Carolina.

According to the Nutley Police Department, the victim told officers on Nov. 15 that they received suspicious phone calls about a female that they had been communicating with on a dating/social website and via text messages.

The victim said that an unknown caller told them the female was not 26-years-old – as they had been led to believe – but was really 16-years-old. The caller added that the teen attempted to commit suicide the previous night, police said.

The caller told the victim that the teen needed $6,000 for medical care, but that they’d accept $3,000, police said.

The same victim later received a phone call from a person claiming to be a lieutenant in a South Carolina police department. However, when the victim asked for proof of identity, including the caller’s name, rank and badge number, the caller hung up, police said.

The incident is believed to be a scam, Nutley police said.

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