Bridgewater residents warned of scammer impersonating a police officer

Bridgewater residents are being warned to be on alert for a scammer impersonating a police officer.

Police say a caller claiming to be a Bridgewater police lieutenant or detective has been calling residents, informing them there were warrants out for their arrest. The caller would tell residents that if they didn’t pay a fine, Bridgewater police would come arrest them.

Police say the scammer was able to clone the Bridgewater Police Department’s business line so “Bridgwater Police” would appear on the resident’s Caller ID. The scammer would then tell the victims to purchase multiple Green Dot MoneyPak cash cards using cash and then read the card’s numbers over the phone so the scammer could gain access to the money on the card.

“The Bridgewater Police Department will never contact a community member via phone requesting payment of any type to avoid arrest,” police said in a statement. “Additionally, the Bridgewater Police Department will never call you demanding payment in any form, including gift cards.  We urge anyone who encounters this scam to hang up the phone and call the police department immediately.”

Police also provided the following tips to avoid scams:

• Never wire money to people that you don’t know or haven’t met.
• Never wire money to pay for taxes or fees on lottery or prize winnings.
• Never purchase a pre-paid card at a store and give the number to someone over the phone who has called you requesting you do this.
• Never provide your banking information to people or businesses you don’t know.
• Never wire money in advance to obtain a loan or credit card.
• Never wire money for an emergency situation without verifying that it’s a real emergency.
• Never send funds from a check you received in the mail and deposited in your account until it officially clears—which can take weeks.
• Never wire a money transfer for online purchases.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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