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The Briefing – Phone Scam Alert!

by John Vogt - November 14, 2014

November 14, 2014 – Wellsboro, PA — HP News, Special Report, Scam Alert! Please read carefully and watch today’s video story.

Today on Wellsboro Home Page Chief Jim Bodine alerts our community to be aware of two PHONE SCAMS being perpetrated on our citizens at this time.

The first scam hitting our area right now involves phone scammers who are calling area residents and convincing some that they are behind on their electric bill. The scammers tell the resident that they have crews standing by to shut off their electricity if they don’t make a payment over the phone to bring their account up to date.

The second phone scam that is beginning to show up in our region is the “IRS Scam.” Scammers are calling residents claiming that he or she is a special agent of the IRS and that they are calling to collect back taxes. They are very convincing and at times rather nasty and threatening. They are telling residents that if they fail to make the payment, an IRS Agent will be knocking at the door and taking them away in hand-cuffs.

Unfortunately, there are people in our area that are falling for these scams. The Wellsboro area has a number of senior citizens that can be bamboozled into believing that these calls are legitimate. These calls can be very convincing, threatening, and frightening to certain residents in our community.

Law enforcement authorities have problems finding and arresting these scammers because they are using throw-away phones (like TracFone) to make their calls. Chief Bodine says that the best thing for you to do if you get a threatening call is to hang up on the scammer. Do not talk with them or give them any information. Do not give you name or verify any information that the scammer may have. Say nothing and hang up. You can then call the organization that they are posing as and report the incident. For example, if the scammer says he is from Discover Card, hang up on the scammer and call Discover Card yourself.

Please help our police department by sharing this information with others in our community, especially those who may be vulnerable to such scams.

Credits:

Produced by Vogt Media

 
 
 
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