Full Notification

An elderly couple reported receiving a letter from the "Interchange International Financial, Inc" notifying them of a lottery win. They were directed to deposit an enclosed check into their account, at which point they would have to write a check to "release their winnings." The enclosed check was a fake and the money the potential victims sent would be lost. The couple in this case recognized it as a scam and lost no money.
This type of scam is very common and keeps popping up. Though they seem to be from American addresses, they are fake. If you get one of these letters and have any questions, please give us a call.

Also, the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative notified us of a scam being attempted on their customers:
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NHEC has been made aware of several attempts in recent days to scam members by demanding payment immediately to avoid disconnection of their electric service. Amid these ongoing attempts, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) is reaching out to as many community members as possible in an effort to warn as many people as possible. The most recent attempts appear to be focused on commercial members in the hospitality industry, such as restaurants and hotels, however, residential members have been targeted as well. Please help us to spread the word in order to avoid more people and business from being scammed. Below is an alert that was recently posted to our website:


SCAM ALERT

Members of New Hampshire Electric Co-op (NHEC) have reported receiving phone calls recently demanding immediate payment to avoid disconnection of electric service.

THIS IS A SCAM! SCAMMER MAY ASK FOR WIRE TRANSFER OR CREDIT CARD. DO NOT PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION! HANG UP IMMEDIATELY!

Remember:

· *NHEC does not call members threatening immediate disconnection nor to demand immediate payment
· *NHEC sends a written notice at least 14 days in advance to warn of a disconnection if an account is delinquent
· *NHEC does not perform disconnections on weekends, holidays or after 3:30 p.m. on weekdays
· *Caller ID may be “spoofed” to show NHEC’s phone number
· *If you are unsure about the identity of the caller, hang up and call NHEC at 1-800-698-2007
· *Please report any scam calls to your local police department using a non-emergency number

After first sending this scam alert, I was notified by another resident that the IRS scam is back and the callers are getting more convincing. The IRS will not call you and have you pay them over the phone or with store bought cash cards. The scammers are pretending to be with many federal agencies to play on peoples fears. Please call us with any questions on these issues.

Please pass the word to family and friends about these scams. The targets of these can often be the elderly, so lets get the word out. The best way to combat these scammers is to educate potential victims.

Thank You