Top 5 Scams Targeting People in New Jersey This Fall

Scammers are some of the hardest-working folks who are also quite creative.

As technology advances, it can be difficult to recognize many of the scams that are out there.

Keep this in mind, the objective of scammers is to separate you from your money.  Make a mistake, and the outcome can be devastating.

These Are Some of the Most Common Scams

1.  The Fake Kid/The Fake Dog

Two similar scams have been circulating on Facebook.

One version of this scam involves a picture of a bloody dog and a plea for help finding the owner.

The message states that the dog was involved in an accident, and needs help.

The newer version of this involves a picture of a bruised child and a message asking for help finding the child's parents.

Both messages implore you to "flood the internet" with the pictures to get the message out.

Who doesn't want to help an injured child or pet?

Both are fake.

2.  The Air Duct Cleaner

It's fall and as sure as the leaves change colors, you're going to see posts from people claiming that things are "tight and they're starting a new business and offering discounts."

This is a part of a more complex scam, and it's easy to be tricked because they don't accept payment until the job is done.  How can it be a scam if you don't pay until later?

The consequences of falling for this scam can be dangerous.  Improper work on your ducts can result in a fire situation, and the people peddling this scam don't do the job properly.

Make sure you only use local businesses that have a local physical address.

This scam is fascinating.  You can read the full story here:    Beware Of Fake Air Duct Cleaning Offers On Local Facebook Pages (wfpg.com)

3.  The Warrant for Your Arrest

This one can be scary, especially for elderly and vulnerable people.

The way this works is an official-sounding person will call you and inform you that there is a warrant for your arrest.

Usually, they say you missed jury duty, although there are different versions of the same scam.

Regardless of what they say, if there's a warrant for your arrest, they won't be calling you in advance.

Never, EVER give personal information to the person, and do not pay anything.

If you have questions about the validity of the call, call your county sheriff or local police.

4.  The "Will You Support the Police" Call

This scam became so prevalent in New Jersey that there was an HBO documentary produced about it.

The victim gets a call from an official-sounding police representative.

You are asked if you support the local police, and are then asked if you'd be willing to show your support for the police by donating to a widow's fund.

As the call progresses, the aggressive, hard-sell pitch becomes downright nasty.

These people are not affiliated with the police.  Many are former convicts, drug addicts, gang members, and worse.  These are bad people.  hang up the phone.

It's especially important to make sure our elderly relatives understand they aren't helping the police.

As we said before, if you have questions, call the local police.

5.  The E-ZPass Scam

This is a scam that may be the easiest one to fall for.

Many of us have found ourselves in a situation where we have used up our E-ZPass account.

Going through a toll without the proper funds to pay, can result in the famous E-ZPass service fees (that's a scam in itself, no?)

So, if you get a text from the NJ Turnpike Authority imploring you to click on a link to pay your bill, you might instinctively click on the link.

That will take you to a page that asks for your payment information.

The moment you give that up, game over.

Rule of thumb, never give out any personal information to unsolicited messages.

Read More:  Beware: Scammers Targeting EZPass Users In New Jersey With Fake Messages (wfpg.com)