ARLINGTON, MA — The Arlington Police Department is warning residents of a recent increase in various types of reported scams.
In one instance, police said a person bought multiple gift cards totaling several thousand dollars after receiving an email about a refund to a nonexistent PayPal account. After giving the scammer the gift card serial numbers, the victim was told the gift cards were invalid and needed to be purchased again.
On another occasion, a person received a pop-up message about their computer being hacked. The victim called the displayed phone number and spoke with a person claiming to be an FBI agent, who told them they may be a victim of identity theft.
The victim was advised to withdraw several thousand dollars from their bank account in order for it to be encrypted via Bitcoin and to use the last four digits of their social security number as the pin. They were also told to buy multiple gift cards and call back with the serial numbers.
Police said the investigation into both scams are ongoing, however the money sent to the callers most likely cannot be recovered.
Arlington police have also received a report of the “grandparent scam,” in which scammers claim a person’s relative has been arrested. The scammers may post as the relative or the relative’s lawyer and request bail payment in cash or in the form of a pre-paid gift card.
In an alternative approach, the scammers request money be transferred via a wire service, such as Western Union.
“The ‘grandparent…
