Fairfield Police 'Inundated' with Reported Phone Scams

Phone scams have been plaguing Fairfield residents -- senior citizens in particular -- and police want the public to be prepared to handle the schemes.

"We've been inundated with calls," Lt. James Perez said Monday. The scams range from someone claiming to be a United Illuminating representative to a person who identified himself as "Lt. Turner" of the Fairfield Police Department.

One complainant told police that this so-called Lt. Turner phoned her and told the victim she had been captured going through a red light and would have to pay via a Green Dot MoneyPak to avoid going to jail.

She purchased a MoneyPak at CVS and was swindled out of $273.18.

For the record, there is no Lt. Turner working at the Fairfield Police Department. When police called the number the woman provided, the person on the other line identified himself as Lt. Turner -- but when officers said they were calling from the Fairfield Police Department, "Turner" hung up.

Businesses have been slammed with UI scams, when the caller threatens to shut off the electricity unless the business owner pays up quickly via a Western Union transfer or a Green Dot MoneyPak.

Perez called these scammers' tactic "source credibility" in claiming to be a police officer or a utility company representative.

"No utility company, law official, or federal agency is going to initiate a call," Perez said, unless, utility-wise, you know there's a problem with your account or you've been delinquent for a long time.

So if someone is calling to be from one of those types of agencies, hang up and call Fairfield Police at 203-254-4800 to make a report. Such calls -- no matter if the complainant fell for the scam or not -- help investigators make connections between reports and hunt down scammers.

Should a caller be calling from another type of organization -- Microsoft has been a popular claim for scammers -- tell the person you need to verify the service they're offering. Call the agency that the caller mentioned to verify -- if you can't confirm someone from that entity is calling for a legitimate reason, call police and make a report.

Perez encourages children of senior citizens to talk regularly with their parents to determine whether they've received calls from scammers -- or have been scammed -- recently.

"Children of older adults -- your parents are targets, and they'll remain targets until scammers get money from them," Perez said.

He hopes seniors talk with other family members to verify suspicious phone calls before they fall prey to a scheme.

Should someone claiming to sell items or a service come to the door, act as if others are in the home if you're alone and be sure to vet the salesperson's company before accepting the services, Perez said.

"Scammers are always out there and they will continue to be with us, and we need to be wise," Perez said.

He suggested making yourself a "smaller target" by calling the Direct Marketing Association -- the "motherboard" of data mining for marketing purposes, Perez said -- and asking that your information be removed from their lists.