Scams Involving Tax Returns, Monster Energy ‘Job’ In Nutley: PD

NUTLEY, NJ — A pair of Nutley residents reported suspicious incidents last week, one involving tax returns and another involving a fake “job” with Monster Energy Drink, authorities said.

According to the Nutley Police Department, the following incidents were reported in the township on Feb. 16.

IDENTITY THEFT

Nutley police said:

“The victim stated that they received emails from H&R Block regarding their federal and California tax returns being submitted. Additional emails were received regarding the IRS accepting their federal return but rejecting their California state return and their refund being held until mid-February. Seven different emails were received. The victim has never lived in California nor filed any tax return with that state. Police advised them to speak with an IRS representative.”

MONSTER ENERGY

According to Nutley police:

“The victim stated that they received a text message several weeks ago from an unknown party. The message said: "Drive your car with Monster Energy Drink's sticker and decal and you will receive a $500 weekly payment. The victim responded with interest of working for the company and was contacted by a ‘Steve George,’ who is an employee of Monster Energy Drink. The victim was advised that they would be receiving a check for $3,500 and once the check cleared, they would need to go to the post office and purchase $2,950 of money orders to send to the ‘specialist’ to install the wrap sticker on the victim’s car.”

Nutley police continued:

“Upon receiving the check for $3,500 the victim attempted to cash it but was advised by bank personnel that there were no funds on the check they were trying to cash. After reaching out to ‘Mr. George’ and advising of the situation, another check was sent out to correct the issue. Upon checking on the status of the check with their financial institution, the victim was advised that their account was closed due to them trying to pass fraudulent checks. The victim advised the bank of the incident and then reported the incident to police realizing they were scammed.”

Keep updated with local public safety alerts at the Patch Belleville-Nutley Facebook page. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com