Fall River and Dartmouth Police warning public concerning two separate scams victimizing residents

Scams seem to be occurring with more and more frequency, mainly because they have been profitable for scammers.

The Fall River Police Department has received multiple reports of schemes to defraud individuals, via online rental websites. FRPD advises residents to be cautious when using the internet to secure an apartment.

“Best practice is to request a property showing before providing any money to secure the listing. If the prospective landlord isn’t willing to meet with you, or requests a down payment for viewing the property, move on to the next listing.”

Dartmouth Police recently took a report from a resident informing them that their elderly relative had received a call from someone representing themselves as a member of the Dartmouth Police Department. As the victim’s caller ID showed “DARTMOUTH POLICE,” they believed that the call was legitimate and provided the calling party with personal information, including a credit card number.

Though in this particular case, the caller was able to cancel their relative’s credit card before any transactions could be completed, their personal information was still compromised, thus putting them at risk for future fraud related activity.

DPD wanted to reiterate that they will NEVER ask anyone to provide them with credit card information as part of their official duties and responsibilities. If you should receive a call similar to this, hang up and immediately call Dartmouth PD at (508) 910-1735 to report it.