Westfield Police: Two People Bilked In Internet Scams

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Westfield police have released details of two incidents in which people were bilked out money in separate scams this month.

On Jan. 22, a resident of Sandy Hill Road said someone contacted him and said he was entitled to a $500 rebate on his wifi.

The person "proceeded to instruct him on how to obtain his rebate through use of his computer," police said.

The person then said he had deposited $5,500 into the victim's bank account, but had done it in error. He then asked that the victim to repay him back the $5,000 in gift cards.

The victim later reviewed his bank account and found a suspicious withdrawal in the amount of $2,200.

The day before, a resident of Maple Street reported being a victim of a fraud. The resident reported a loss of almost $1,000.

The resident said that someone contacted them, claimed to be a representative of a utility company. The person stated the victim was past due and required funds to prevent an interruption of service.

However, after the victim supplied the funds, they realized that the actor was not a representative of the utility company. There are no suspects at this time.

Police have warned residents not to give out personal information to strangers. Several Union County residents have been scammed via phone or internet recently.

And a Summit resident lost $9,000 last month in a "Grandparent Scam" by phone.

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