Email Scam Bilks Hopatcong Residents, Cops Say

Two recent email scams have victimized borough residents, Hopatcong Police said.

One resident was scammed after being hired by a company through Career Builder, according a report released on Monday by Lt. Kmetz.

Kmetz said the woman received two checks from a "customer" for more than $1,500 each. She was also told to take $319 out of her commission and send the rest of the money through Western Union to the United Kingdom, Kmetz said.

When the woman went to cash the checks, she found they were "bogus," and instead the money was taken out of her account, Kmetz said.

Kmetz posted a report of another Internet scam on the Hopatcong Police Facebook page on Tuesday, that included an example of a message some residents have been receiving.

The message is from an individual claiming to have been mugged in the Philipines, and is asking for money.

Kmetz said it is "another popular scam that has taken some victims in Hopatcong."

He said the common denominator in all of the email scams is the Western Union.

"The criminals want the money through Western Union because they can go to any Western Union location and pick it up," he said in the post.

Kmetz urges residents to not send money to anyone unless they are in contact with someone they know on the phone.