Postal Service Scam Targeting Wayland Residents: Police

WAYLAND, MA — If you get a text or email from someone claiming to be from the U.S. Postal Service, you might want to think twice.

Wayland police say local residents are being targeted by scammers claiming to be from the post office, requesting payments or other personal information.

"Residents should be aware that town, state, and federal agencies – including the U.S. Postal Service – do not send text messages asking for payment or personal information," Chief Ed Burman said in a news release.

Besides healthy skepticism, there are a few other steps residents can take to guard against scams: never click on links sent to you via email or through text messages from unfamiliar sources; don't ever send money to someone who contacts you out of the blue; keep computers updated with malware software; and don't download attachments from fishy sources.

Anyone in Wayland who thinks they may have been scammed should contact police at 508-358-4721, or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Even the FTC has been roped into scams. A recent New York magazine article detailed how the publication's financial columnist willingly gave $50,000 in cash to a stranger in a car after scammers pretending to be from the FTC and CIA talked her into it.