Northern Kentucky police departments are urging citizens to be aware of an uptick in telephone scams and an increase in thefts from vehicles.
Fort Wright Police Chief Daniel Kreinest said the department received a call from an elderly resident in reference to a phone scam.
An individual claiming to be Officer Harris called the woman from the Canadian area code 514, indicating her grandson was in a bad crash in Florida and needed $3,000. The woman was advised to purchase $3,000 in ITUNE cards.
Fort Wright Police called the number and a man calling himself Officer Harris answered, but when the caller identified himself as a member of the department, the man hung up.
The Fort Wright Police department also received a similar complaint from another resident. Kreinest advised citizens not to send money to anyone without verifying from other known family members that the request is legitimate.
Also, a man claiming to represent the Campbell County Sheriff’s office reportedly called a resident of Ft. Thomas who didn’t show up for jury duty. The caller advised the woman she owed $2,500 in fines and instructed her to purchase a Green Dot voucher card from a local grocery store to pay the fees.
The scam is similar to those reported earlier this year in Bedford County, Ky.
Often these scams are successful because the purchaser reads the number on the back of the card, which allows the swindler to access the funds.
Kreinest also stated that police in Northern Kentucky cities have seen an increase in thefts from vehicles.
Citizens are advised to lock their car doors and not to leave valuables in plain view in vehicles, as thieves will break a window to get items such as computers, mobile phones and wallets or purses.
Residents are advised to be safe and call police immediately if they see anything suspicious in their neighborhoods.
NKyTribune staff report
I wonder why people still falling for these scammers. I have read many reports and complaints at http://whycall.me about these jury duty and “relative car crash” scams since years ago. I recommend everyone that got called by someone claiming to be a police officer and ask for immediate payment over the phone, to just hung up the phone, and report the number to police department. Don’t waste your time talking with them.