A phone scam has hit Marlborough where the scammers were able to trick a caller ID into showing they were calling from the Marlborough Police Department.
The Police Department has received an increase in complaints of phone scams on residents of Marlborough. These scams are used to trick the victim into sending money or, which police say is just as costly, providing personal info to another person.
The following details have been provided by the Marlborough Police Department
Lottery Scam: The caller claims that you have won money, usually from a foreign county’s lottery and that you have to send money via Western Union to cover the taxes before they send the prize money to the victims. In one recent incident the suspects were able to “spoof” their phone number to show up on the victim’s caller id as the actual Marlborough Police Department phone number and claimed to be a Police Sergeant calling to say that the previous caller was legitimate and to go ahead and send the money.
Tips to protect yourself:
1. Don’t assume that the information displayed on your phone, regarding who the caller is, is accurate, any phone number can be masked.
2. Never give out personal or financial information over the phone unless you know EXACTLY whom you’re dealing with.
3. If you have doubts about who’s on the phone, call the main number back rather than talking to the person who calls you.
**We are asking the public to please be aware of these scams and to not give any cash out when asked unless the situation can be verified by your local law enforcement agency. Sending large amounts of cash out is very risky and the chance of getting your money back is not likely. If you can, please stop and think about what the caller is asking of you and check the validity of the circumstances.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding these types of calls or scams, please call the Marlborough Police Department at 508-485-1212.
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