Oak Bluffs P.D. warns of another scam

The Oak Bluffs Police Department is warning the public of a scam through its Facebook page.

“We would like the public to be aware of increased reporting of fraudulent telephone calls in the region by individuals purporting to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA),” the post states. “The callers usually tell the victim their Social Security number (SSN) has been suspended because of suspicious activity, or because it’s been involved in a crime. Sometimes, the scammer wants them to confirm their SSN to reactivate it. Sometimes, they’re told their bank account is about to be seized — but if the victim puts their money on gift cards and then gives the caller the codes, SSA can help keep it safe.”

According to the post, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reporting impostor scams have topped the list of consumer complaints submitted to the FTC in 2018. Nationwide, FTC received more than 63,000 reports. Only 3 percent reported a loss — totaling $16.6 million. Many of the impostor scams utilize spoofed phone numbers for legitimate government agencies.

Oak Bluffs Police encourage anyone who receives a call to report it to police and to also file complaints to the FTC online at ftc.gov/complaint. If victims have given their SSN to one of these callers and are concerned about identity theft, they can visit identitytheft.gov/ssa.