New Canaan Police Offer Tips For Avoiding Scams, Fraud

NEW CANAAN, CT — The New Canaan Police Department has offered an overview of common scams and fraud activities for residents to be aware of.

In a news release posted to the town website Friday, police said targeted fraud and attempts to scam people and steal their money are prevalent in today's society.

New Canaan Police Business Liaison Officer Roy Adams recently conducted a public meeting at Lapham Community Center to share tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of these crimes.

The following overview of common scams and fraud activities, as presented by Adams, was provided by New Canaan police:

NCPD's Best Advice for responding to suspicious activity:

• DO NOT immediately act on any unsolicited calls, e-mails or text messages...don’t hesitate to verify someone's identity or ask someone to help in ensuring legitimacy.
• Contact the police of any suspicious activity or if you need advice with any scams, fraudulent activity or identity theft.

Most common scams to avoid:

They may be carried out via telephone, internet or in person. Here are a few examples:

Grandparent scam

• You will receive a call from a person claiming to be your grandchild.
• They may or may not use personal information related to you or the grandchild.
• They will claim to have been arrested, possibly in another state or a foreign country, and need money to get bailed out.
• The phone call may actually show as your grandchild's real phone number (this is called phone spoofing).
• This person will ask you to wire money or send it electronically.

Package scams - via phone

• You may receive an e-mail or text message stating you have a package en route or containing a link to track your package.
• If you did not recently order a package or if you did not pay for special tracking on your package, you should ignore this message.
• Most postal services or retailers will not text you unless you requested shipping updates.
• This is an easy scam to fall for because they want you to click on the link to gain access to your phone or computer and may be able to steal your personal information from there.

Package scams - in the mail

• Have you received a package on your doorstep that you did not order?
• This could be a sign of identity theft or be a part of criminal activity.
• The package may contain your information or someone else’s name along with your address.
• Criminals will mail packages to a residential address to avoid using their own personal information or because they used that person’s stolen identity.
• They will then look to intercept the package before you do and use the fraudulently purchased items for themselves or sell them.

Make sure to contact police if you come across these packages!

Utility bill scam

• People pretend to be representatives from Eversource, Optimum, etc.
• They will call and threaten to shut your power or service off if you do not pay them immediately.
• DO NOT give any credit card information over the phone or send a payment.
• You can always ask for the person’s information and contact the company yourself after you hang up.
• Companies normally need to provide written notice if this is an actual issue.

E-mail solicitation

• Hackers will send e-mails pretending to be various businesses that you might normally receive e-mails from.
• They will create e-mail accounts off by one letter or number, which you may not even notice.
• Most e-mails include a link they want you to click and will say this is to “reset your password” or to "check your status."
• They send tens of thousands of these e-mails in hopes that just a few people will click on it so they can hack into your device.

Additional actions to take in response to attempted fraud or if you are a victim of fraud:

1. Collect and gather all pertinent personal information.
2. File a report with the FTC - Federal Trade Commission.
3. Cancel any credit or debit cards (if applicable).
4. File a police report (New Canaan Police) - has to be done in person, the officer can come to your residence or you can come to the police station.
5. Get a new driver's license or other personal identification documents, if needed.