Suffolk Police say there have been a series of unrelated scams that have occurred in Hampton Roads recently with seniors being targeted.
In one of the incidents, a citizen was approached by two suspects claiming to be from a foreign country who wanted to send money to a relative back home.
The suspects told the citizen that the relative died and the suspects had to give their money to someone because they can’t return home with it.
They then convinced the citizen to withdraw money from their bank account and put it in a box to give back to the victim.
After distracting the victim, the victim found that there was nothing in the box.
The second scam has senior citizens being notified by a man identifying himself as a court officer advising that they missed jury duty.
They try to convince the victims that a warrant has been issued for their arrest and that they must pay $1,000 to $2,000 to cover the fine.
The suspect tells the victims to put the money on a Green Dot Card and give the card number to them.
As a general reminder, if you are contacted by anybody demanding immediate payment, stop the conversation and ask for detailed information from the caller: who are they; what company do they represent; what is their address; what are the phone numbers to their company. If you have no idea about the account they are telling you about, demand them to send you a copy of the bill. Do not give out any information including address, phone number(s), your name, or any of your personal identifying information.
If you have been contacted by a person that you believe is attempting to scam you, document the telephone number, hang up and call the police. If you are contacted in person at your home, close the door and call police. If you are in a public area, leave the area as quickly and safely as possible and make contact with a business/manager of the property or location and have the police called.
