WATERBURY, Conn. (WFSB) – Police are warning residents about new and different ways scammers are trying to trick people out of their money and personal information.
“Violent crimes are down, property crimes are down, but there’s one big exception, and that is fraudulent crimes,” said Michael Lawlor, University of New Haven associate professor of criminal justice.
In recent months, Waterbury residents have reported various new tactics scammers use to target victims. Callers often pose as elected officials, local companies and more recently, police officers.
“It’s crazy. As time goes on, it gets worse and worse,” said Thomas Conway of Waterbury.
Waterbury police say some scammers claiming to be Waterbury police officers might tell victims they have missed jury duty or have an outstanding warrant. These calls always come with a sense of urgency to convince victims to give them money or personal information.
“People don’t really appreciate how simple it is to imitate a local phone number,” Lawlor said.
Lawlor, a criminal justice expert from the University of New Haven, said advancements in AI have given scammers new abilities to target victims. These scammers often operate from overseas, leaving local authorities with few options but to warn the public.
Lawlor’s best advice is simple.
“If you don’t recognize the phone number, just hang up. If it’s a legitimate bill collector, or something like that, you’ll get an email, and you’ll get a letter in the postal mail,” he said.
Joe Gabriel from Plymouth has seen the aftermath of loved ones getting scammed.
“My sister-in-law and my best friend who passed, both of them were scammed $40,000. So, god bless it wasn’t me,” Gabriel said.
Lawlor explains that even answering phone calls can lead to trouble.
“If the first voice you hear is like ‘Hi, can you hear me?’ If you say yes, then they’ve got the recording of you saying yes. And then they can use the other information about you to open up a new credit card; chances are you have a good credit score; and then they can start charging stuff to your name on a credit card you didn’t even know existed,” Lawlor said.
Conway has adopted a strict policy about unknown calls.
“I do not even answer the phone. If I don’t recognize the number, I do not answer,” he said.
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