Bank Fraud Under Investigation In Newtown Township

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — The Newtown Township Police Department reported the following incidents between June 6 and June 12:

June 6

• At approximately 12:15 p.m., a Newtown Township resident stopped at police headquarters to report an attempted theft from their vehicle while it was parked at their residence on June 3. The investigation is ongoing.

June 11

• At approximately 7:30 p.m., police were contacted in regards to the theft from a vehicle that possibly occurred while the vehicle was parked at a church or business in Newtown Township. Police remind everyone: Don’t leave valuables in the car. Make sure all of the car’s windows are shut. Lock your car, even if it is parked in your driveway. Lastly, remember to take your keys with you. If you leave your keys in the car, anyone can drive it away.

June 12

• A Newtown Township resident contacted police around 9 a.m. to report a case of fraud. The woman told police that she received three consecutive phone calls from what appeared to be the Wells Fargo branch located in Newtown. Thinking it might be an emergency, she answered on the third call and spoke to a man claiming to be Tyler Hagen with the Wells Fargo Fraud Department. He further claimed there were fraudulent transactions on her account and went through the transactions to determine if they were authorized by her or not. He claimed he could shut down her ATM card and prompted her to give him access to do so. She received a 6-digit code and verbally provided it to the man. The man then said she had a Google Pay account showing, and she became uneasy and disconnected the call. She contacted Wells Fargo directly and was notified that there is no employee by that name in their fraud department and that there were several unauthorized transactions to a Google pay account within the last 30 minutes. The matter is being investigated by the bank. Police remind everyone not to give out personal information to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly. If you're unsure about a contact, verify their identity by contacting them directly through a known phone number or email address.