Lower Merion Police Issue Scam Alert

The following was provided to Patch by Lower Merion Police:

Lower Merion Police are urging residents to be on alert for telephone scams involving Green Dot MoneyPak card cash transfers.

Police agencies have received reports of a scam in which a caller claiming to be an IRS Agent , a utility company or other government agency tells the victim that the owe the agency money. They are threatened with arrest if the funds are not immediately paid. The caller, often with a foreign accent, instructs the caller to withdrawal funds from their bank and then provides transfer instructions.

The caller will then ask for the PIN number and Green Dot card number. Once the scammer has those, the funds are drained from the card.

There are many variations of these scams. All involve the electronic cash transfer of funds to Green Dot MoneyPak, Money gram or Western Union.

Never surrender your personal information, such as account numbers, social security numbers, or routing numbers to a caller on the telephone. Keep in mind that legitimate agencies are not demanding immediate payment through nontraditional means. These callers cannot be trusted, even if they have some of your correct personal information.

If suspicious of dubious claims that you owe money to any entity, and always when nontraditional payment methods are requested, immediately hang up and verify it with your bank, police department, utility or government agency. Do not call back the agency on the number that the caller provides. The scammers are prepared for this.

Don’t be bullied or intimidated by these callers. Never make money transfers that are demanded. Hang up and notify the police.

For further information on current scams, check the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Website.

For a list of current scams, you can also visit the Green Dot website.