EMAIL SCAM
The Concord Police Department has been made aware of recent attempts to gain money by fraudulent means specifically using emails. Financial fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in America today. Some financial crimes involve identity theft others involve the victim sending money for any number of reasons.
Financial fraud begins with the collection of personal information from victims. New methods of obtaining information regularly pop-up but there are several of these "scams" that have remained consistent. Below is a list and brief description of several scams prevalent today. Be aware of them as knowledge is the key to avoiding victimization.
Assistance in relocating assets from a country in political turmoil
This scam, in recent years, has been mass mailed through the internet, and has also appeared in letters, faxes and phone calls. The scammer tells the victim they have a large sum of money they’ve inherited/found/earned legitimately/etc. The money is trapped in their country and may be confiscated by the government or some other agency. You will be offered a large portion of the money, often millions of dollars, if you allow it to be transferred to your accounts to get it out of the country. The scammer will usually ask for your banking information and may ask for you to travel out of country to sign paperwork, collect the money etc. The scam may involve legitimate or official looking paperwork from banks and government officials.
Request for monies to be wired due to legal issues in a foreign country
A variation to the above the scammer will obtain the victim’s email account by sending a false email to the victim. The message states that there is a problem with his/her email account and to follow the link to correct the issue. Once the password for the account is obtained, the scammer will send an email to all the contacts from the victim’s contact. The email will usually state that he/she has been arrested/or mugged and is in need of money to return home.
These scams come in many forms but the basics are the same. A stranger is offering you millions of dollars or needs cash immediately to return home. Never provide your private information to a stranger. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Phishing~Scams
another popular scamming scheme involves "spoofing" websites and e-mails.~A victim will receive an e-mail from E-bay, a bank, credit card, etc. The e-mail will explain that the person’s account has become inactive or that they need to update their records. There is a link in the e-mail which guides the person to an official looking web-page from the company. The web-page asks for account information often including the account number, PIN, address and other personal information.
These scams have been very successful because the e-mails and subsequent web-pages they lead to look official. Remember, anyone can send an e-mail or post a web-page and official looking logos and pictures can be obtained very easily. Never provide your account information in response to any e-mail or on any website linked to an e-mail. Most companies, including E-bay do not send out e-mail requiring account updates. If you believe the e-mail to be legitimate, simply make sure by contacting the business by phone instead of following the link.
Advance fee schemes
Another common scheme is for the scammer to respond to advertisement for a sale item. Such as a car for sale on craig’s list etc.. The scammer will respond with an urgent message to purchase the item but wishes to over pay by check having the seller keep a portion of the overage and wire the remaining funds back immediately. The check sent by the buyer will be counterfeit and the seller will be responsible for monies wired.
Lottery schemes
The scammer will again mass mail notices of lottery or sweepstakes win. The victim is requested to send a refundable fee to assist in release the winnings. The scammer may request several different advances for different reasons but the victim will never receive any monies.
Clues to a scam unsolicited contacts, contacts made through hot mail, yahoo or other anonymous servers. Any contact from a governmental agency. Any contact from a financial institution requesting your personal information. Any contact from a family member who cannot speak to you personally or you have had little or no recent contact from.
WHEN IN DOUBT
Do not try to rationalize the request, when you are in doubt seek help! Contact a trusted friend, lawyer, accountant, family member or law enforcement official, social service agency provider (ie counsel on aging, local bank manager, police officer) for advice before taking any action.
Winter Parking Restrictions
For safer streets and to ensure 24-7 access for emergency vehicles a Winter Parking Ban is in effect from 1 A.M. to 6 A.M. November 1st to April 1st.
There is also no overnight parking in municipal parking lots.
Concord Police Department Emergency Notification System
The Concord Police Department has partnered with Emergency Communications Network to license its CodeRED high-speed notification solution to create a Concord Police Department Emergency Notification System. The CodeRED System provides Concord Police Department with the ability to quickly deliver personalized messages via voice, email, phone text and TDD/TTY capabilities to targeted areas or the entire Town of Concord in minutes.
Chief Barry Neal cautioned that such systems are only as good as the telephone number database supporting them. "If your phone number is not in the database, you will not be called." One of the reasons the CodeRED system was selected is that it gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly into the system's data base, which is an extremely important feature.
“No one should automatically assume his or her phone number is included,” Chief Neal said urging all individuals and businesses to log onto the Town of Concord's website, www.concordma.gov, and follow the link to the Concord Police Department’s home page. From there, there will be information about the Concord Police Department Emergency Notification System and a link to the form that can be filled out. Anyone without Internet access may call the Concord Police Department at 978-318-3400 to supply their information over the phone. Required information includes first and last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes), city, state, zip code, and primary phone number. Additional phone numbers can be entered as
well.
All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, and those who have changed their phone number or address within the past year or who use a cellular phone or VoIP phone as their primary number.
Chief Neal explained, "The Concord Police Department Emergency Notification System allows geographically based delivery, which means street addresses are required to ensure emergency notification calls are received by the proper individuals in a given situation. The system works for cell phones too, but we need to have an associated street address to provide relevant messages."
Chief Neal stated, "The Concord Police Department Emergency Notification System gives those who want to be included an easy and secure method for inputting information. The data collected will only be used for emergency notification purposes." Questions should be directed to the Concord Police Department, Detective James Forten at 978-318-3420 or email jforten@concordma.gov.
TO ENROLL TO RECEIVE EMERGENCY MESSAGES CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
TO REMOVE YOUR NUMBER FROM THE EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM
CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
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