Brick Resident Scammed by Fake Charity, Others Report Fake Utility Company Calls

Two recent scams where residents were fraudulently contacted and asked for money are under investigation by Brick Police.

The scams prompted Brick Police to issue a warning to residents. In one incident, a resident was contacted by someone claiming to be a charity, and convinced the caller to make deposits to their fund over the phone, said Sgt. Henry Drew.

In another scam, a caller claiming to be from JCP&L contacted a resident saying their electric would be cut off, but the caller could prevent that by supplying them with prepaid credit card access.

Brick Police contacted JCP&L about the scam, and found out multiple customers had been impacted by the type of scam, Drew said.
Police are asking anyone who receives suspicious phone calls to not divulge personal information, and instead report the call to the police.

The complete post from Sgt. Drew:

The Brick Township Police Department would like to remind residents to be aware of financial scams during the holiday season. Over the last week, officers of the Brick Township Police Department have responded to several locations, where people have been the victim of telephone financial scams.  

In one of the instances, a local business was advised that JCP&L would disconnect their electric service unless they sent a significant amount of money via pre paid money cards.  Further investigation revealed that the caller was committing a fraud upon the business owner.  JCP&L was contacted and advised that they do not use outside companies to handle their disconnect services, do not request people to pay via money cards, and do not request personal information over the phone.  They also advised that they have received several reports of these types of scams.  

Additionally another township resident provided a fake charity their checking account information when they were advised that they had previously promised donations.  Several thousand dollars were removed from their account before this scam was discovered.  

Residents are reminded to never give any of their personal information over the phone or the internet.  

If you are contacted by anyone requesting this type of information, please try to record their telephone number, and verify as best as you can.  

If you have any concerns at all, please contact the Brick Township Police Department at 732-262-1100.  

An officer will respond and attempt to help you verify what is being requested.