Council: Beware of Scams, Protect Personal Information

Residents should be weary of phone and email solicitations promising discounts and other offers in exchange for personal information, members of Township Council cautioned this week. 

The discussion about scams and the spreading of false information was spurred when Vice President Brendan Weiner said during his report that a phony email warning of rises in Medicare costs was being distributed. 

"Basically, it's saying that there are going to be large increases in Medicare Part B in the next couple of years base on health care reform that was just passed," Weiner said. "I just want you to know that the letter is fake and it holds no bearing."

Attorney Steve Secare then recalled a scam in which a JCP&L impostor attempted to obtain important personal information through automated phone calls. 

"They want you to send in a Social Security number," Secare said. "Obviously, everyone, especially seniors, should be aware of the scams that go on."

When asked by the council if anyone in the meeting audience had received such a call, the majority of the about 20 attendees raised their hands. 

FirstEnergy, which owns the utility, over the phone. Bills should only be paid through "methods authorized by FirstEnergy."

The Senior Scam Task Force, coordinated by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, is a resource that residents should consult if they have questions about whether an offer which might seem too good to be true is legitimate.

"Call the Prosecutor's Office. They'll help you out," Secare said. The office can be reached by calling 732-929-2027.

For the seniors living in Manchester on a fixed income, any potential savings is a help. 

"People are suseptible to that. You put your Social Security number on the internet, thinking you're going to get money, and it's a scam," Secare said. 

Another scam involving an individual calling to say that harmful software is being downloaded to a personal computer also is ongoing, said President Craig Wallis, who recently received such a call. 

"I looked up the number to see if anyone had received phone calls from this number, and sure enough that's what they're doing," Wallis said. "Then they're going to get into your computer and get your information. It's happening everywhere."

Protecting electronic personal information should also be a consideration when a computer is discarded, said Councilmember Samuel Fusaro. 

"If you get a new computer, make sure you take the hard drive out of the old one," he said. Even erasing the drive may not prove sufficient, as data can be recovered. 

Simply putting an old computer out with the trash is "like putting your bank accounts in the garbage," Secare said.