BROOKLINE, Mass. — The calls seem legitimate — by caller ID they even look legitimate. But Brookline Police are warning that scammers are pretending to be officers in order to steal money.
Brookline Police released a Public Service Announcement (PSA) about the new scam, including a facsimile of such a call.
“Deputy Richard Barron, Brookline Police Department,” the call begins. “I do have some legal documents here that require your immediate attention.”
The scammer asks for a return call on their “Direct Line.”
Brookline Police say when the victim calls that number they’re told to send money via cryptocurrency — or risk going to jail. To assuage any doubts the victim may have, scammers rig the caller ID such that it comes up as Brookline Police.
“This is often referred to as caller ID spoofing,” the PSA advises.
Besides not returning the call, the PSA advises those who do to collect information from the scammer, including name and affiliated police department. It then recommends the target victim let the scammer know they’ll call his police department’s main number and ask to speak with him.
That will usually end the scam, the PSA advises.
Those 60 and older are considerably more likely to become targets of scammers. For one thing, they may have considerable assets. Second, they tend to have more trust. And finally, some may have a degree of cognitive impairment that makes them easy prey.
The FBI’s Elder Crime Fraud Report from 2023 found $3.4 billion stolen from those 60 and older — in schemes involving such things as investments, tech support — and even romance.
In Massachusetts, the FBI identified about 1,600 elder scam victims that same year in Massachusetts, with total losses approaching $64 million.
The Bureau of Justice found even more victims of financial fraud in those 60 and older. In statistics dating back to 2017, BOJ found 930,000 such victims that year — the vast majority scammed over products, services, and charities.
The bottom line, according to the Brookline PSA: Police departments never make calls looking for money. In fact, they never solicit money, period.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/YAO3TQZTGZHXJKAKI2TZKUN47I.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/NAIW4U35PJDSFPJQCXNZOFD22E.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/YWTORKE3XRC6PKWPPLYOHLIV5U.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/Z5OGZXGQHZCQHGWXM35GFFYK5U.jpeg)
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/09-19-2024/t_1b4ee8b57586494dbcb7c08ecf860db0_name_file_1920x1080_1200_v3_1_.jpg)