MBG-2025-01-0119
On January 7th, 2025, at approximately 12:10 pm, a resident of the Borough came into the police department to report they were the victim of a possible scam. The victim began communicating with an individual via text message from an unknown phone number in the early part of 2024. The victim continued communications with this individual through WhatsApp after telling the victim the original number was no longer active. The victim eventually was convinced to begin transferring money from their own bank account into crypto currency accounts. The crypto currency was then transferred to the person they were communicating with. A large sum of money was sent over time and the victim came to the police department for assistance, as the person kept asking for more money and began making vague threats if they did not pay. After looking at the communications and messages, it was determined to be a scam. The person the victim believed they were speaking with does not exist. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The police department would like to discourage people from communicating with individuals from unknown numbers. If you are asked to begin communicating with individuals on other platforms, outside of text messages or phone calls, your suspicions should be heightened. Prior to ever sending money you should attempt to ensure the person the money is being sent to is for legitimate purposes and investigate to determine if their identity can be confirmed.