BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The Belleville Police Department has recently received an increase in cases involving financial abuse of elderly people. They posted on Facebook today about how to handle these scams.

Suspects in these situations are calling victims and pretending to be family members of elderly people in distress. Victims may be contacted by suspects using out-of-state or app-based phone numbers. 

The suspects say they are police or connected to law enforcement, and they want bail money for a family member of the victim. The suspects get the victims’ addresses during the call.

Law enforcement will not contact individuals’ family members to seek currency on their behalf.

The first guideline of scam protection is to make sure that you initiated the contact. Be suspicious at first if somebody contacts you with a money concern. 

Gather their information or sales pitch, then follow up with your bank, family, or law enforcement, and never provide personal information. When in doubt, turn off the phone.