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IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE FAIR HAVEN OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Posted on: April 2, 2020 - 4:44pm
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE FAIR HAVEN OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

April 2, 2020

Don’t be a victim

With the challenging times, we all know that there are predators out there trying to take advantage of the situation.  The Federal Trade Commission is an up to date resource on all the current scams operating across the county.  Most of these scams are conducted through robo-calls.  The scams frequently ask for personal information such as bank accounts and social security numbers or to convince their victim to wire money through the purchasing of gift cards.  The most popular scams at the moment involve Social Security Administration and Covid-19.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SCAM
The call states that your social security number has been suspended due to fraudulent activity related to Covid-19.  They then provide you with a call back number.  When you call the number back the scammers will attempt to gain your personal information and/or ask you to send money.

KEY FACTORS

· Your Social Security number is not about to be suspended.

· The real Social Security Administration will never call to threaten your benefits.

      The real SSA will never tell you to wire money, send cash or put money on a gift card.

 

COVID-19 SCAMS:

Other calls are targeting Medicare recipients and small business.  Again, the scammers are attempting to gain personal information or getting the victims to wire money to them.

 

How to handle robo-calls according to the FTC:

· Hang up. Don’t press any numbers. The recording might say that pressing a number will let you speak to a live operator or remove you from their call list, but it might lead to more robo-calls instead.

· Consider using a call blocking app or device. You also can ask your phone provider if it has call-blocking tools. To learn more, go to ftc.gov/calls.

· Report the call. Report robo-calls at ftc.gov/complaint. The more we hear from you, the more we can help fight scams.

Please forward this message on to family members, especially your senior citizen relatives, as they are frequently targeted for these scams.  If you have any questions or want to report a scam you can contact the Fair Haven Police Department.