Falmouth Police are warning residents of phone scams that have bilked local residents of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past month.

The two new scams circulating in the community target older residents by convincing them the caller is with the local police department, according to Chief John Kilbride. Over the past four weeks, three residents have lost a total of $95,000 from their savings after scammers got personal information like a Social Security number, Kilbride said.

According to Lt. Frank Soule in an article posted on the town’s website, the scammer posed as a government official and said someone had used the victims’ information to rent a car that was found in Texas with “evidence of a crime.”

“This type of crime shows no sign of decreasing and is truly disheartening and difficult to investigate,” Kilbride said.

When one intended victim questioned the validity of the call, the scammer responded by telling the victim that Falmouth PD would respond to their residence. The scammer then called Falmouth dispatch and requested a well-being check at the intended victim’s house, Soule said.

The scammer’s goal was to persuade the victim that their call and their request was legitimate by sending police officers to the home, Soule said.

“Our dispatch center caught this as it was happening and was able to prevent further correspondence with or cooperation from the intended victim,” he said.

In another scam that was attempted last week, police said when the intended victim refused to answer “security questions” such as providing their Social Security number, the scammer stated police would be contacting them.

The scammer then hung up and called the victim while pretending to be with the local law enforcement agency. The caller ID on the intended victim’s phone showed the real business line for Falmouth police – 781-2300 – but the call was not made from the department.

The person who received the call realized it was not legitimate and ended the interaction, police said.

Residents who are suspicious of a call received from any police department should hang up and call their local police directly.

“We will work through any potential issue and provide any verification you may need to ensure you that you are dealing with your local police officers on a legitimate matter,” Soule said.

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