Brick Police Aiming To Arm Residents Against Fraud Scams

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township police are urging residents to be aware and warn their loved ones about an increase in scammers targeting people of late.

In addition, the department is hosting an information session on Zoom at 3 p.m. Friday to help educate seniors about these scams to arm them with knowledge to protect themselves. Send an email to Officer Victoria Finelli at vfinelli@brickpd.com for a registration link if you are interested.

Here are some of the common scams, many of which target older residents, that are circulating once more. Please share this information with family members to help prevent them from being scammed:

IRS Scam: This occurs when the victim receives a telephone call from a scammer pretending to be an IRS agent. The scammer will commonly state you owe the IRS money. The IRS will NOT contact you by telephone and ask for money. Hang up if you get this call.

Gift Card Scam: A scammer will contact you by telephone pretending to be a representative from a bank, business, or federal agency. The scammer will say you owe them money and request a payment by gift card. NEVER provide gift cards as payment. Government agencies and utility companies do not take gift cards as payment.

Email Scam: Be cautious while on the internet. Scammers typically target victims through spam emails. The emails appear to be from a legitimate company or financial institution. When the victim responds or clicks on a link, it will typically request personal financial information, all while appearing to be legitimate. DO NOT CLICK THE LINKS. Call the company or the financial institution to verify the information.

Grandparent Scam: Similar to the gift card scam. The scammer will call posing as a relative in distress or someone claiming to represent the relative (such as a lawyer or law enforcement agency). The relative of the grandparent explains he or she is in trouble and needs their grandparent to wire funds that will be used for bail money, lawyer fees, hospital bills, or other fictitious expenses.

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