POLICE CHIEF: Brandon M. Esip

EMERGENCY: DIAL 911

BUSINESS: 508-759-4420

BOURNE POLICE DEPARTMENT

These scams have been recently reported by Bourne residents and have been confirmed by the Bourne PD.

Collection Scam Claiming to be Bourne Police - Last Reported September 11, 2014

The scam attempts to recover funds on a collection account that the resident does not actually owe. It is a sophisticated scam that involves multiple methods of contact, false Caller ID information and multiple callers. The scam starts with an email to the target from “General Attorney” with the subject “Legal Document”. The email begins with “Attention: Final chance for you.” It goes on to claim the target has an outstanding balance with “Cash Advance Inc. Company” and that multiple attempts to contact the target have been unsuccessful. The email claims legal proceedings are pending against the individual unless the target pays the balance on the account. The balance is under $500. If the balance is not paid within 24 hours, the email claims the target will be responsible for court courts totaling more than $5,000. The email also threatens to notify employers of the debt. The same day the email is sent, the target receives a call from a male claiming to be from a law firm representing “Cash Advance Inc. Company”. The caller claims the balance on the account must be paid to stop court proceedings. The following day, the target receives a call from a female claiming to be an investigator with the Bourne Police Department. The Caller ID indicates the call was from “911”. The caller provides the correct address for the Bourne Police Department and claims if the debt is not settled with “Cash Advance Inc. Company”, Bourne Police officers will arrest the target at their home. Residents are warned not to provide any information to anyone calling as part of this scam. If residents receive calls from someone claiming to be a Bourne Police officer, they can always contact the department directly at 508-759-4420 to verify the authenticity of the caller. The Bourne Police do not take part in any attempts to collect debts. Residents are also warned that it is very easy to spoof a Caller ID and they should not rely on the Caller ID always being accurate.

GMail/Microsoft Lottery Phishing Scam - Last Reported in town on September 4, 2014

An email scam is going around town that claims the recipient has won a lottery based upon Microsoft Windows collecting your GMail account automatically and entering the address into a lottery. The email continues to claim the recipient has won a large sum of money and a laptop. In order to claim the prize, the recipient needs to submit specific information, including name, address, occupation, sex, age, phone number, state and country to a specified email address. The email has multiple typographical/gramatical errors and claims to be from a bogus Microsoft Outlook Lottery, INC. The message comes as an attachment to another email. Residents are cautioned never to open email attachments to emails from unknown senders. Furthermore, it is recommended that people simply delete these messages instead of attempting to open or respond to them in any way.

Anti-Bullying Police Campaign Scam - Last Reported in town on August 28, 2014

Residents are reporting receiving calls from an individual claiming to be either a Bourne Police officer or a representative of the Bourne Police Department. They claim to be collecting money for an anti-bullying campaign. The caller reportedly "sounds official" and does not use the usual high pressure tactics associated with these scams. The Bourne Police Department is NOT associated with any organization collecting money for this purpose. It appears this scam is international as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have also alerted to similar scams. If residents received any calls soliciting donations from someone claiming to be a Bourne Police officer or otherwise affiliated with the Bourne Police Department, please attempt to get a phone number for the caller and report the call to us at 508-759-4451. As a reminder, Bourne Police officers will NEVER directly contact you to solicit for any money.

FBI Investigation Scam - Last Reported in Town on October 2, 2014

A resident advised us that they received a call from someone identifying themselves as an FBI agent. The agent demanded a $500 payment via Green Dot Cards. If payment was received, the "agent" advised they would stop the investigation into the individual. FBI agents will never demand payments in order to stop investigations. If anyone receives calls similar to this, report the scam directly to the FBI using their online scam reporting system at: http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx .

National Fallen Police Officer Fund Scam - Last Reported in Town on August 11, 2014

Residents have been reporting being contacted by an individual claiming to be collecting for the National Police Fallen Officer Fund. The individual reportedly claimed to be affiliated with local police departments. The Bourne Police Department is not affiliated with any organization like this and is not soliciting any funds on its behalf. The call came from (978)699-311. There are many online scam reports related to this number with individuals claiming the caller ID displays as National Police or Adams Locksmith. Anyone that receives a call from someone claiming to be a Bourne Police Officer should attempt to get a name and call back number for the individual soliciting the money and contact the police department immediately. Residents are cautioned not to donate any money to anyone claiming to be a Bourne Police Officer. While the Bourne Police Patrolman's Association (the union not the department) occasionally participates in fundraising drives conducted by contracted independent companies, actual Bourne Police Department officers are never used to solicit money.

Relative Needs Money - Last Reported in Town on August 5/6, 2014

This one has been going around for a while, but has recently popped up again in town. You are sitting at home...the phone rings...you answer. The person on the other end of the phone claims to be your grandchild, nephew, or some other relative. They claim they were in an accident, were arrested or have some other type of emergency and need money wired to them ASAP, usually via Western Union or GreenDot MoneyPak. Another variation of this scam involves the caller claiming to be a Mexican police officer or other foreign law enforcement officer who arrested your relative and needs the money to secure the safe release of your relative. The "police officer" may put another, "younger" sounding person on the phone that claims to be your relative. These scams usually prey on senior citizens in they hopes they will not be able to contact the "involved" relative to verify the claim. Use caution whenever you are contacted and requested to send money via Western Union, GreenDot or any other non-typical payment method.

IRS Scam - Last Reported in Town on October 2, 2014

Residents have been reporting fraudulent calls from individuals claiming to be IRS agents. These "agents" claim the individual needs to make immediate payment on their back taxes or they will be immediately arrested. Residents are cautioned that they should never provide immediate payment over the phone to someone claiming to be from any agency that will "immediately arrest them". Any suspicious activity/requests should always be verified by calling the official customer service number of the company (not a number provided by the suspicious caller).

NSTAR Scam - Last Reported in Town throughout July 2014

Local business have been reporting fraudulent calls, usually on a Friday or during a weekend, from individuals claiming to be from local utility companies such as NStar. The caller claims the business owes money on their utility bill and the utilities will be shut off if immediate payment is not made. The payment method requested is usually a Green Dot card that can be purchased at most stores. The scammer in this case is working on the concept that the business will be fearful of having the utilities turned off for the weekend. Businesses should be aware that legitimate utility companies will not be requesting immediate payment through a Green Dot card or other non-conventional payments such as Western Union. If you receive a call like this, you should verify the account status by calling the utility company's official customer service number, not a phone number provided by the suspicious caller.