On its Facebook page today, the Southborough Police Department asked residents to be wary about providing personal information over the phone or on the web, and to report cases of identity theft or attempted identity theft.
“We want to be as proactive with our residents as possible; by making sure they have the information on these scams (ahead of time) so that they don’t become victims,” the police said in their post. “It is normal to feel embarrassed (that it happened to you), but you can actually do something about it by warning others in your community. If no one talks about it (or reports it), then those responsible will continue to profit and hurt others in the future.”
They also asked for help getting the word out to elderly friends and neighbors, who are often targeted in identity theft scams.
The police relayed the story of one Southborough resident who received a phone call from a fake credit card company informing her that her account had been frozen. They asked her to provide her account number and other personal data. Luckily she recognized the call as a scam and did not provide the information.
For those who fall victim to similar ploys and lose money or divulge private information, the police said they can work with the phone company to try and locate the source of the call. “We’ll do everything we possibly can to help recoup what you’ve lost,” they wrote.
Police admit email “phishing” scams are so prevalent that it is impossible to follow up on each one. They suggest reporting those scams to the companies that are spoofed in the email, for example eBay, Craigslist, Paypal, and credit card companies. You can also report scams at the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
If you’ve been the victim of identity theft, or for more information on how to protect yourself, you can pick up a copy of the Identity Theft Victims Kit at the front desk of the Southborough Police Department.
