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Date: 4/13/2021
EASTHAMPTON – Mayor Nicole LaChapelle partnered with the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations (OCABR) and the Easthampton Police Department (EPD) to host a free tax scam webinar to educate residents on fraudulent activity.
LaChapelle was joined by Robin Putnam of OCABR; Edward Palleschi, the undersecretary for OCABR; and three detectives from the EPD. The three detectives who joined were Mark Popielarczyk, Eric Alexander and Andrew Beulieu.
One of the main topics they discussed was phone and email scams, and how the pandemic has contributed to scammers being more active since people are home.
“The scammers know we’re doing a lot of online shopping,” said Putnam, who added that a lot of text messages that are not legitimate could come off as so. “A lot of these text messages are going after consumers … a lot of times they’ll say, ‘this is Amazon, and we have package, could you please click here to verify your address.’”
The dangerous part about these text messages, according to Putnam, is if recipients click the link, then malware can be added to the recipient’s device. “They like to infiltrate,” Putnam added.
According to Alexander, Easthampton has seen a number of scams, whether they be IRS scams, lottery scams, utility scams, etc. “Ultimately, [the scammers] will try to manipulate you in any way, shape, or form to get to you.”
Putnam suggested that people call their bank if they receive a suspicious call or text, and be aware that since tax season is extended until May, scammers will make many attempts at breaching someone’s personal information.
“If you want to be really strict with yourself, make sure to monitor your mailbox,” added Putnam. “There are people who will love to steal anything.”
Another problem presented during the meeting that involves Easthampton was the idea of gas scammers. According to Alexander, Detective Popielarczyk has dealt with gas scammers at area gas stations in Easthampton. Alexander and Putnam both suggested using credit cards when purchasing gas since, at the very least, you would not lose any money from a checking account.
“I think the most important thing would be to monitor your bank accounts and credit cards,” said Popielarcyzk, who suggested that residents put alerts on, so when they do make a purchase, they receive some type of notification about it. “You would know already if something is not right.”
Alexander presented another case where a scammer contacted an Easthampton resident pretending to be an Apple consultant, and said that their computer has been compromised. The resident, however, did not realize that it was a fake Apple consultant, so the scammer was able to get inside their computer and started manipulating their bank accounts.
“The person was watching hundreds and hundreds of dollars get removed from their checking account before their eyes,” said Alexander. “Somebody shouldn’t be calling you to tell you that something can be fixed. If you think there’s an issue, you’re going to need to call that agency.”
There is another scam called the “grandkid scam” that has occurred in Easthampton as well, according to Alexander. What this entailed was an individual received a phone call from someone saying that their grandkid got in a car accident in Florida, and in order to prevent them from being arrested, the scammer told the recipient that they need to submit gift cards to the rental car company to avoid being charged for using a rental car.
“The scam individual will go online and find out about your family members ... and make it seem super believable,” said Alexander. “If you think something feels a little bit off, it probably is.”
If people would like to know more about identity theft, you can visit the EPD link here: https://www.easthamptonpd.com/resources/identity-theft.html.
The full webinar is posted online for viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs4FliuEFgU.