Fraud prevention month

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March is fraud prevention month and the City of Vernon is urging residents to be on the lookout for the latest scams.

Some come in the form of a telephone call or email, while othersbegin with a knock at the door. In the last few weeks, several residents have reported a lottery prize scam that offers a large prize in exchange for providing personal and banking details.

“The Community Policing Office has received notice that a resident has fallen victim to the Microsoft scam where a caller says they are from Microsoft, and that there is a problem with their computer,” says Rachael Zubick, Coordinator of the City of Vernon Community Policing Office.

“The scammer then asks for credit card info to pay for the computer to be fixed. The senior involved was scammed for several hundred dollars.”

Seniors can be especially vulnerable, as certain scams target that specific generation. Examples include news from a fake lawyer or fake grandchild, who may claim that money is urgently needed to get a loved one out of trouble. The victim is then told to send funds that quickly disappear. Another involves an inheritance from an unknown relative or a large sum of money that must be transferred overseas.

“The good weather is expected to draw out service scammers,” Zubick adds.

“Some go from door-to-door offering to do repairs on a home and then ask for astronomical sums once the intimidated homeowner has agreed to the work. Service scams can also be made by telephone, from someone offering cheap Internet, medical or financial services in order to obtain personal information. These types of scams can also be for offerings of antivirus software and for credit card interest rate reduction schemes.”

Zubick suggests a little advice: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.