MORRIS COUNTY, NJ – The Morris County Sheriff’s Office has received a “significant” increase in the number of frauds reported over the last six months.
This has been the trend, not only at the sheriff’s office, but throughout Morris County, officials said.
Fraudsters try many tactics to pressure victims into providing personal information or paying a fee. They often convince victims to withdraw money from the bank to avoid being arrested, the sheriff’s office said.
Common scams are:
- Email or phone call advising that your accounts have been hacked.
- Email or pop-up from Microsoft advising you that your computer has been hacked.
- Email or pop-up from the Geek squad claiming you owe money or have been hacked.
- Facebook message that you have been hacked.
- Caller from a Bank or other business claiming to update their records by asking for personal data.
- Caller claiming to be law enforcement, stating there is a warrant for your arrest.
- Caller claiming your grandchild was in an accident and needs bail money.
Any caller telling you to buy gift cards or submit money to a bitcoin or cash machine for payment is not legitimate, authorities said.
Some scammers will tell you they need to get access to your computer to fix the problem. This is a ploy, and you should never allow anyone access to your computer, officials said.
If you receive a call or email that you think is suspicious, immediately contact a family member to verify or to law enforcement. If you have been scammed, report the incident to local law enforcement immediately, the sheriff’s office said.
