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Ogdensburg police warn public of phone scam

Posted 10/30/17

OGDENSBURG – Police here are cautioning the public regarding a phone scam being run in the Ogdensburg community today. Police said that numerous people have received a call from a male pretending …

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Ogdensburg police warn public of phone scam

Posted

OGDENSBURG – Police here are cautioning the public regarding a phone scam being run in the Ogdensburg community today.

Police said that numerous people have received a call from a male pretending to be a relative who then asks for bail money. The caller is supposedly incarcerated in New Jersey.

A couple hours later another male calls stating he is the lawyer of the jailed “relative.” The “lawyer” explains that the relative was in a car accident, and that a passenger from the other vehicle was in the hospital. The local resident's supposed relative was purportedly arrested for DWI. The lawyer then asks the local resident if they have credit cards or bank accounts and attempts to get personal identification information from them. The caller then requests $1,000 cash only and that it be mailed to "Alicia" at a Gray Hackensack, N.J. address.

Local residents who have received this call reported to police that the male pretending to be a lawyer went by the name of "James Johnson" and was a non-American/non-English speaking male, and difficult to understand, police said in a press release.

The caller gave a call back phone number of 201-204-1341 to one resident who received the call, police said.

An officer attempted to call the number but there was no answer and no message service.

Police say there have been several similiar complaints involving this same type of scenario, and they caution residents to not send money to the address left by the caller.

Ogdensburg city residents as well as residents living in surrounding areas are asked to report any suspicious activity via telephone, email, or delivered mail to the police department who can verify if there is criminal intent.

Residents are advised to never give out any personal information such as date of birth, Social Security numbers, banking account information, credit card information, and to be cautious when unknown person (s) ask for money orders or cash via the postal service

For more information, or to report similar incidents, call the Ogdensburg Police Department at 315-393-1551, or the local law enforcement agency if you live outside of Ogdensburg.