Pre-Paid Debit Card Scam Targets Elderly, Police Say

Lower Saucon Township Police have issued a warning to local residents about a Jamaica-based telephone scam involving the 'Green Dot Money Pak' prepaid debit card.

Lower Saucon Township Police are warning residents to be alert to a new type of telephone scam, which they say targets older residents in more affluent areas. A township woman was the attempted victim of the scam May 10, police said in a press release. Typically, police said, the "nationwide" scam works in this way: "The victim is left with a piece of plastic," police said, adding that scam artists typically use either coercion—i.e., threatening to come to the home—or the promise of prize winnings to convince a targeted individual to buy the prepaid debit card. Anyone who receives this type of call should report it to their local police department and not purchase the prepaid debit card as instructed to do, police added.

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Crime News

Heiress Linny Fowler Scammed Out of $1 Million, DA Says

Allentown man and woman told philanthropist Linny Fowler they needed money for a sick child, but spent her money instead on clothing, travel and gambling, DA John Morganelli says.

  Marlene “Linny” Fowler was well-known in the Lehigh Valley for her generosity, giving millions of dollars away to institutions, causes and individuals she thought needed the money. But according to a Northampton County grand jury, two Allentown residents who got more than $1.2 million of the late UPS heiress’ money were taking advantage of her generous spirit. On Friday, Shawnta Equana Carmon, 32, of 27 West St., and Hassan Rahman Carmon, 34, of 848 N. 16th St., were each arraigned on four felony theft counts. Both were committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail. Shawnta Carmon took more than $1.15 million from Fowler during a four-and-a-half-year period that started in January 2008 and ended in August, according to …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter: Thieves Now Targeting Redbox Customers

Lower Saucon resident George Kramer says he was the victim of a scam when he withdrew a DVD from the Redbox rental kiosk at the Giant supermarket in the township.

To the editor: An interesting mode of fraud happened to me Friday night (Jan. 11, 2013) at the Giant in Hellertown. I got a movie at the Redbox to watch after dinner. A few hours later, we were ready to watch the movie. I opened the case, and the only thing there was a PHOTOCOPY of the DVD, with the scan pattern placed in the correct position, enabling the person who previously rented it to return the empty box with the piece of paper instead of the disc. I called Redbox, who of course have the credit card number of the person who had just rented it. That person had only had it out for a few minutes before returning it (just enough time to photocopy the disc with the copier at Giant and return it). So, Redbox knows the identity of that …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Company Rep Calls Scam Allegation 'Horrible Slander'

Lower Saucon Township police recently warned local residents about a possible scam involving workers allegedly employed by the New York-based company Pro Energy Maintenance.

Editor's Note: The following letter was received following the publication of a story based upon a Lower Saucon Township police report about a possible scam involving a company called Pro Energy Maintenance . To the Editor: The owner of Pro Energy Maintenance has hired me as a representative to preserve the integrity of honest, hard-working people that are completely legitimate. Pro Energy is also in complete agreement with the comments out there as far as the low down, underhanded methods of illegitimate companies taking advantage and scamming people. We are (an) out-of-state company, although we are licensed and insured with good standings in three states. Unfortunately, the hard-working legitimate people that are in the contracting …

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Township Police Warn of Possible Scam

Lower Saucon police said Monday that a chimney cleaning service reportedly operating in the area could be a scam in disguise.

Lower Saucon Township police issued a warning Monday night about a possible scam being perpetrated in the area. Police said they received a report Monday afternoon about "a possible scam involving Hispanic males who claim to be part of a chimney cleaning service by the name of Pro Energy Maintenance." Police didn't specify what type of behavior led them to conclude that the men could be scam artists, but said "they are driving around in an old white work truck bearing (the) New York registration 28668MB." A Google search for "Pro Energy Maintenance" led to a listing for a company with that name based in Copiague, New York. According to the listing on BuildZoom.com--which compiles data about contractors from throughout the U.S.--the company…

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Chief: Elderly Borough Couple Targeted by Thieves

An elderly First Avenue couple were recently the victims of a burglary, Hellertown Police Chief Robert Shupp told Borough Council Oct. 3.

An elderly couple who live on First Avenue in Hellertown were recently the victims of a burglary that possibly could have been prevented with proper precautions, Borough Police Chief Robert Shupp told Borough Council members Oct. 3. According to Shupp, the couple fell prey to two men who employed a simple ruse in order to distract them while they were in their own home. When one of the men came to the back door of their home, Shupp said, he distracted the residents by talking to them about home repairs, while his accomplice entered the residence through the front door and proceeded to steal jewelry and other items. Shupp emphasized that this type of crime is not common in Hellertown, but urged residents to take common sense precautions in …

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Lower Saucon Police Warn of Possible Phone Scam

Police say a man hung up on a resident when she wouldn't disclose personal information over the phone.

Lower Saucon Township police are warning residents of a possible phone scam following an Aug. 3 incident that involved a township resident. According to a police department press release, the resident received a call from a man who stated "that PPL rates will be increasing by 25 percent in the near future, and he was offering a rate reduction plan." The man then went on to tell the woman that the plan has been approved by the Public Utility Commission (PUC), police said. When the man asked the resident for her personal information, she told him that she would need to talk to her husband and asked for a phone number in order to call him back. At that point he hung up on her, according to police. When the number he called the resident from …

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Lower Saucon Police Warn of Possible Phone Scam

Police say a resident received a phone call from someone claiming to work for SpectaGuard and wanting to set up an appointment to conduct a fire code inspection.

Lower Saucon Township Police are warning local residents to beware of "spoof" phone calls from someone claiming to be a representative of a company called SpectaGuard. Wikipedia defines spoofing as "a situation in which one person or program successfully masquerades as another by falsifying data and thereby gaining an illegitimate advantage." Police say they became aware of the alleged spoofing when a township resident advised them of a suspicious March 10 phone call from a woman claiming to be a representative for "SpectaGuard Incorporated." The phone number that registered on the resident's caller ID device was 610-233-0519, police said. The woman who said she worked for SpectaGuard told the resident the company would be in the area …

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Lower Saucon Police Issue Warning to Residents

Police say after a man entered an elderly woman's home under the guise of doing work for the water department, another man attempted to steal items.

UPDATE: In response to the Jan. 19 incident in which a man gained access to a resident's home under the guise of being a water department employee, the Lower Saucon Authority, which provides water and sewer services to most of the township, has posted an information statement and alert on its website. All Lower Saucon Authority employees carry photo identification with them in the field, and residents are advised to ask anyone attempting to gain access to their homes to produce identification if they wish to verify his employment. During regular business hours, residents may also call the authority at 610-317-3212 if they are in doubt about someone's credentials. After business hours, Northampton County Control should be contacted at 610-…

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