Person Posing As A 'Geek' Scams Westfield Woman Out Of $7,100

WESTFIELD, NJ — The same week that Westfield police got a report of a woman being scammed out of $435,000 in three months, they also learned of two other victims of fraud in town.

Police say that on April 6, a Roosevelt Street resident contacted them to say that in September of 2020, an unknown person contacted them saying they were a representative of Best Buy’s Geek Squad Support Services.

The person requested payments from the victim for computer repairs. After gaining remote access to victim’s computer, the actor accessed victim’s bank account and transferred $2,000, the victim told police. Additionally, the victim provided the person with her credit card information and $5,100 was charged to her credit cards.

The victim ultimately suffered a financial loss of $7,100.00 as a result of this scam.

Unemployment scam

Meanwhile, last Thursday, a resident of Seneca Place told police that he learned from his employer that his identity was stolen and used to make a fraudulent unemployment claim with the New Jersey Department of Labor.

The victim stated he is currently employed and did not make any requests for unemployment benefits. The employee suffered no monetary loss as a result of the fraudulent claim.

How to protect yourself from scams

As similar scams ramp up via the internet and phone, police have warned residents not to give personal information to strangers.

For instance, a Summit resident was swindled out of $9,000 in December in an increasingly common "Grandparent Scam," in which callers say they have a person's child or grandchild in custody and need money.

And a Westfield resident was bilked out of $10,000 in a phone scam in February. READ MORE: Westfield Resident Bilked Out Of $10K In Phone Scam

On April 26, Lifelong Westfield and the Westfield Police Department will present a webinar to help residents identify and avoid fraud and scams, many of which target senior citizens and are on the rise. To obtain the Zoom meeting information, attendees must register in advance by emailing westfieldnjseniors@gmail.com or calling 908-201-1287.

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