The Carrollton Police Department has learned of recent cases involving someone calling older citizens and telling them that they have won prizes. The suspects tell the victim they will send them checks they will need to cash and the victim will need to send the money from the cashed checks through wire services to the suspects. The same people also ask the elderly people to obtain a Green Dot card for various amounts and the suspects ask for the Green Dot number. The suspects then immediately get the Green Dot money.
Crime prevention tips: Let your older friends and family know about this scam and tell them not to answer the phone from unknown phone numbers if they have caller ID
- Sign up or help the older citizen put their phone number on the National Do Not Call List at http://www.donotcall.gov/
- If they receive mailings they don’t recognize shred the mail, don’t give out any personal information, don’t confirm your identity to the caller.
- If they don’t have caller ID and the caller is someone trying to offer them a prize or any other service, tell them to hang the phone up.
- More crime prevention tips can be found at http://ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/phone.shtm. You can also file an online complaint about any scams at this website.
If you need police assistance don’t hesitate to call the police department at 770-834-4451.
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