Identification Scams and Fraud Complaints.

Crimes involving identity theft and fraud are becoming more prevalent as technology progresses.  The increased methods of communication and information access enable the criminal to develop new ways to con others into giving money under false pretenses.  Some common attempts to scam unsuspecting victims is to send letters or emails claiming the victim has won a lottery or drawing, communications which appear to be from a legitimate source such as a bank or the IRS, or phone calls regarding an account or winnings.  The purpose of these is to obtain the victim’s personal or account information.  Some will request information such as social security or bank account numbers and others will request an advance payment to cover the taxes for the winnings.  In any case, do not respond to any form of communication with your personal or account information.  If you do not recall entering a lottery or drawing, or entering into a deal with another, then most likely it is a scam.  If you are not sure if you are being scammed or someone is trying to gain your personal information, contact the police department at 973-398-2100 for assistance.  Remember the old saying, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’.