Crime & Safety
Morgan Lane Resident Victim of New Money Card Scam
Another resident falls prey to scam where callers claim to represent officials collecting a debt or fine—which law enforcement officials do not do by phone.
A resident of Morgan Lane is out an undisclosed amount of money after a phone call urged them to immediately send a payment to cover an alleged $3,900 IRS debt.
The scam is a variation of one reported several times last year, with residents reporting phone calls from purported representatives of law enforcement agencies demanding immediate payment to avoid arrest. In one report, a Finderne Avenue resident paid $365 by moneycard after receiving a call from Hunterdon County law enforcement requiring the money to avoid arrest for an alleged unpaid traffic ticket.
Police remind residents that law enforcement agencies—and federal officials—never demand immediate payment by phone calls, and do not accept payments through such third-party handlers as Paypal.
The most recent incident was reported on Jan. 10. The resident reported receiving the phone call from an unknown number claiming to be from the I.R.S. The caller told the victim he owed a $3,900 debt to the I.R.S.—but could settle the account for a fraction of that amount by acting immediately, sending money by using “Green Dot MoneyPaks” and uploading them to a PayPal, which the victim did.
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