BELLEVILLE, Illinois — The Belleville Police Department has recently received a surge in elder financial abuse cases. You kept postingFacebooktoday on how to deal with these scams.

Suspects in these situations call victims pretending to be family members of elderly people in need. Victims can be contacted by suspects using out-of-state phone numbers or apps.

The suspects say they are police officers or affiliated with law enforcement and they want bail for a family member of the victim. During the phone call, the suspects learn the addresses of the victims.

Law enforcement will not contact individuals’ family members to request money on their behalf.

The first guideline for fraud protection is to make sure that you initiated the contact. At first, be suspicious of anyone approaching you about money matters.

Gather their information or sales pitches, then contact your bank, family, or law enforcement agencies, and never give out personal information. If in doubt, turn off the phone.

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/belleville-police-warn-about-scammers-pretending-to-be-family-in-need-of-help/ Belleville Police Department is warning of scammers pretending to be family members in need of help