Scammers Collect $35K In 2 Trips To North Jersey Resident's Home

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Bergen County resident who received three phone calls from scammers ended up handing over $35,000 to them before going to the authorities, police said.

Police in Glen Rock say that on Aug. 22, a resident told them that two days earlier, someone called them pretending to be from the U.S. Treasury Department.

The caller told the victim that he or she had been subject to identity fraud, and in order to protect the money, it had to be transferred from their bank to the Treasury Department until the end of the investigation.

The person took out $25,000 from three different branches of their bank, police said.

The victim then put the money into a black bag and turned it over to a man who came to the home.

"The man was described only as a well-groomed Hispanic male who drove a black car," police said.

The next day, the victim got a call from someone new and agreed to provide another $10,000, police said.

They put the money in a brown paper bag and gave it to "two black males who came to the complainant’s home driving an unknown black vehicle," police say.

Police say that when the person got a third call, this time asking for an $80,000 cash transfer, that they became suspicious and contacted police.

'Known Scam'

Police told the person that the matter was a "known scam" and to stop providing money.. The Detective Bureau is investigating.

The federal Office of the Inspector General posted last December about various scams involving people pretending to be from the Treasury Department. Find out more here.