Posted on Monday January 04, 2021
We have received a number of complaints about phone and email scams in our community.
Currently, IRS scams are 'in season.' You can
get more information about IRS scams at
https://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts.
Whether it is callers from a foreign "Lottery" or people claiming to be
from the IRS or Microsoft or your credit card company, here are some
things you can do to protect yourself.
Protect your personal information!
- Never give personal information over the phone
unless you have initiated the contact. Legitimate businesses will never
call you and ask you to ‘verify’ your identity or account information.
- Never respond to an email asking you to verify
your identity by providing personal or account information, either
directly or through a web page it takes you to.
- Never open an email attachment unless you are completely certain of its origin.
- Never download a file to your computer because an unknown caller has asked you to do so.
- You are always welcome to
call Plainfield PD at 603-469-3344 if you are worried about a phone or
email contact. We are here to help!
Finally, residents are receiving calls from various
‘charity’ organizations. Some are legitimate and some are not. You
should be skeptical of fundraising requests from organizations you do
not know. Before you give, you can go to GuideStar at http://www.guidestar.org and get free information about the finances and reputation of any charity or non-profit organization.