Saturday, July 25, 2015

IRS and Police fund raising scams top the listing for June 2015


The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation compiles publicly available scam, identity theft, and fraud complaints from around the Commonwealth via police logs, news outlets, and other sources, as well as through the Office’s Consumer Information Hotline.

scam log analysis by MA Office of Consumer Affairs
scam log analysis by MA Office of Consumer Affairs

IRS and police related phone scams top the listing for June 2015. The scam log analysis article provides some tips on how to recognize that the phone call maybe attempting to swindle you for a police related fund raising effort. 

Tips to spot police phone scams

  1. If you do receive a call from the police department asking for donations for their annual fundraising efforts, they will not be demanding or put you in a high pressure situation. If you find yourself in a high-pressure situation, be skeptical, and do not be afraid to just hang up.
  2. If you are told that the money is for local police associations, ask what associations they are for. If you do not recognize any of them, ask to call them back so you can do your homework and find out about the associations yourself. You should also consider contacting the actual police department, which can verify what associations they support.
  3. If you are told that the money is to aid an on-going investigation or department advertising, be skeptical. Hang up and call the actual police department to see if they can verify where all of their fundraising efforts go to.
Follow the link to read the full article to find out how to recognize other phone scams and what to do if you receive one.
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/scam-log-analysis-june-2015/


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