Phone Scam Victim Prompts Warning By Warren Police

Warren, NJ -- Warren Police are warning residents of phone related money scams after a township resident became a victim on Tuesday.

A King George Road resident reported being the victim of fraud on Tuesday, May 31 at 5:03 p.m., Warren police reported.

The victim reported receiving a phone call from a person claiming that her grandson was arrested for DUI and needed $2,000 in "iTunes" gift cards for bail.

The victim purchased the gift cards and mailed them to the caller.

Warren Township Police Chief William Keane sent out a letter to all residents to be aware of the latest Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other phone related money scams.

• Keane's letter:

We urge you to not give any personal information over the phone and not mail any monies to anyone without first consulting you local police department, family or friends. The IRS and other government agencies will not contact you by telephone to collect any payments or funds.

The IRS has issued a new warning “about the latest scam involving phone calls from people claiming to be IRS agents.” The warning explains that, “in the scam, callers demand students pay a fake ‘federal student tax,’ and if they don’t wire money quickly enough, the scammers threaten to inform the police.”

Additionally, the IRS is reporting the targeting of senior citizens where “victims receive a telephone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS. They are told that they will be arrested if they do not make a payment immediately.” According to the Senate Committee on Aging, almost 1 million individuals have been targeted by scammers, noting “5,000 people lost $26 million last year.”

The Warren Twp. Police have also been seeing an increase in phone scam calls where callers are told a family member is in jail and bail money must be wired or mailed immediately to release them. Again, no police agency will call requesting bail money be mailed or wired, you must pay bail in person. 

Should you receive a call like this, contact the family member in question and/or your local police department before taking any action.

The first line of defense with scams like this is you, don’t be a victim.