Hingham, MA – For the second time in ten days bank employees prevented an elderly resident from being scammed out of money that she was going to send to scammers.   

On February 22, 2021, an Officer was dispatched to the Hingham Institution for Savings branch located in the Linden Ponds senior living complex for a report a customer may be in the process of being scammed. 

The customer, a 93 year old resident of Linden Ponds, came into the bank on her cell phone and was seeking to withdraw $7,800. The customer remained on her cell phone during the transaction attempt. When a concerned bank employee asked if they could speak with the person on the phone, the caller hung up. 

The woman told the Officer she had received a call from a man who said her bank information may have been “compromised” and she needed to send money to further protect her additional bank information. Due to the length of the call, the woman could not relay the exact details of the call. The woman told the caller she does not drive but could walk to the bank. The caller told her to stay on the phone as she went to the bank to withdraw the money. This is a common tactic of scammers to isolate the victim so they do not have the chance to talk or to call anyone and learn they are being scammed.

During the call, the woman gave the caller her Social Security number and other personal identification information to the scammers. 

Again we applaud the bank employees for their alertness and taking the extra steps to prevent the elderly resident from becoming a victim. We encourage people to share this information with seniors and have conversations about these scams. Awareness as to how these scams occur is the best way we can protect each other. If anyone thinks a phone call or unsolicited email may be a scam attempt, simply hang up the phone or just delete the email. ### Contact P.I.O. Sgt. Steven Dearth