JACKSON, NJ – Officials across New Jersey have identified several scams that are targeting residents this Memorial Day weekend.
A bail scam is responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in theft statewide. Callers will say that a relative is in jail and needs bail money to get out. They will try to obtain your personal information and will use that information to deplete funds from your account.
Another scam is callers posing as police officers trying to raise money for alleged police charities.
Police also warn of virus scams and photo blackmailing scams. Both scams involve stealing your computer access and account information. In the virus scam, residents receive an email stating that they have a virus and to call tech support. That support representative will ask you to give them control of your PC. Once you do this, they access your private financial files and saved credit card data online.
In the blackmail scam, callers or emails will notify the victim that they ‘have videos and photos of them’ that they will release if they don’t pay. They don’t.
Police also warn of an increase in door-to-door salespeople and petition scams. Petition scams are in-person and online scams in which a person says, “Fill out this petition and email it to me.” The scam will normally ask for personal information such as your home address, phone number, and signature.
Scammers then take those items and try to open accounts in the unsuspecting victims’ names, depleting the accounts or committing other financial fraud.
As a reminder, any political petition distributed in New Jersey requires the petitioner to identify the individual people on the committee clearly, and those signatures need to be notarized by an actual witness. Failure to do so can lead to election law violations and penalties. Make sure you know exactly who you are giving your personal information to, why they need it, and who is responsible for safeguarding your personal information.
Political surveys and petition scams exploit people in the current heated political atmosphere. They are also sometimes phishing scams. If the petition does not have the petitioner’s name on it, don’t sign it, because it will be rejected by the municipal clerk anyway. They’re just collecting your data.