Scam Attempt On Northampton Police Hour After Alert Issued

NORTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, PA —The Northampton Township Police Department issued a warning on social media Wednesday morning to be aware of scammers.

An hour later, a scammer tried to scam them.

"Within an hour of us posting a fraud/scam alert, someone tried scamming us by making the email look legit from a company that we do business with," the police department said in a Facebook post. "The email looked very real. They used the exact same format that the real company uses."

Police said that one of the "little red flags" was a Gmail return contact instead of the company email address.

Police said they contacted the company directly with the contact information it has on file and not the information provided in the "bogus email."

"Please remember to never use the info that they provide to confirm your suspicions," police warned. "These scammers are here to stay (unfortunately). You will need to keep your guard up."

Earlier in the day, police said they were taking fraud reports on a regular basis.

Police warned residents of scams where someone contacts them via phone or email stating that a computer or an account has been compromised and that gift cards or bitcoin need to be sent in order for it to be restored.

Also, police also warned residents about tax scams.

Police said the IRS will not call residents at any time demanding payment for past overdue fees and threaten arrest if payments are not made within the next 10 minutes.

Police said residents should call the police department at any time to report such scams.