South Brunswick Police Issue Alert about New Phone Scam

scamalertSouth Brunswick Police and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office are alerting residents to a new phone scam. In the scam, the caller masks their number so it appears to be coming from the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department. The caller identifies themselves as a law enforcement official and indicates there is an outstanding federal complaint against the resident. The caller then tries to convince the resident send money in order to avoid arrest.

This scam is a variation of recent IRS phone scams. One South Brunswick resident reported the call and explained at first it seemed legitimate because they had somehow got the call to appear as it was coming through the actual Sheriff’s office main phone number.

The South Brunswick Police have been in contact with the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office. The county sheriff has received several calls from residents who received a scam call. South Brunswick Police advise residents to hang up the phone and call the police if residents have any question about the legitimacy of the phone call. Anyone demanding money over the phone to avoid an IRS complaint is fraudulent.

Following is a voicemail left at one South Brunswick home on Monday:

“Good morning this message is intended for ___________ this is officer James O’Connor and I’m calling you with the Middlesex County Sheriff’s office with the badge number 1705. The reason I was trying to reach you with in reference to a federal complaint which we have received against your name from an officer by the name Sean Woods who is working with the department of Internal Revenue Service. So the very second you receive this message I want you to step down to your department and surrender yourself or if you can speak with an officer phone what’s on the number that is area code 206-801-6132 I repeat the number again it’s 206-801-6132 and you can see what’s going on and if you would please call the office or in the next 30 minutes and I will be forced to send my investigating cops at your door steps as an as at your place of employment within organized this morning your name. You need to answer on this charges. So I want you to get in touch with officers along with you and get this complaint resolved as soon as possible. This is officer James O’Connor calling you with the Middlesex County Sheriff’s office. Thank you.”

Hear the audio here.

“The best prevention to falling victim to one of these scams is being aware they are going on,” South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said. “We share this information with the public so residents can tell their friends and family so that no one falls victim to these criminals.”

One Comment

  1. Indeed, the best prevention is being aware. Educate yourself by reading reports on these phone schemes, there’s a lot at Callercenter.com , and don’t forget to report suspicious calls, too, to inform others about it.

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