The following was provided courtesy of the Newtown Township Police Department.

Newtown Township

May 20

Scam Call

A Newtown Township resident came to police headquarters at approximately 11:55 a.m. to report that her computer was hacked.  She told police that a phone number flashed on the screen indicating if she called they would fix her computer.  She placed the call and was told that she would need to pay $499.99 and allow remote access to the computer.  Access was provided that the subject began to ask for personal information including the woman’s social security number.  The woman turned off her computer and called her bank to place a security watch on her accounts.

Scam Call

Around 8:30 p.m., police received a second report from another resident reporting a similar fraud.  She also placed a fraud alert on her bank and credit card accounts.

May 25

Scam

At approximately 11 a.m., a resident of Newtown Township came to police headquarters to report that she was a victim of a scam and suffered a financial loss of $3,000.  The victim told police that she received a call with a male subject telling her that one of her family members had been arrested and that she needed to send an American Express cash card so her family member could be released.  After she sent the money she was contacted again and told to send another $1,000 and again complied with the request without checking to see if the family member had truly been arrested.  When she attempted to return a call she learned the number had been disconnected.

Attempted Fraud

Around 5 p.m., a resident came into headquarter and reported that her debit card had been compromised.  She explained she had used her card in Philadelphia earlier in the month and on May 23rd when she attempted to use her card the transaction was denied.    She learned that funds had been withdrawn from the account on May 15th.   She has notified her bank of the situation.