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Monroe seminar warns residents about rising frauds — from grandparent scams to AI deepfakes
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Summary
At a Monroe Township theft-preparedness event Detective Bob Bennett warned that impostor scams, gift-card schemes, ATM skimming and AI-enabled frauds are growing; he urged residents to hang up on threats, verify calls and use credit protections.
Detective Bob Bennett of the Monroe Police Department told residents that fraud and scams are widespread, rapidly evolving, and often highly persuasive — and he used local cases to show how quickly families can lose large sums.
Bennett cited national figures and Department of Justice definitions to frame identity theft and fraud as crimes committed to obtain others' personal data "for economic gain." He said that in Monroe Township reported frauds have risen markedly in recent years and that the department had recorded roughly 437 fraud reports in 2025 to date.
The presentation reviewed common schemes: grandparent or "family in jail" impostor calls, IRS impersonation calls during tax season, lottery and sweepstakes scams, romance and investment schemes, vacation and home-improvement cons, employment-related 'reshipping' or mule operations, and emerging AI-driven frauds that fake legal documents or voices.
"If someone tells you 'you will be arrested' or 'don't tell anyone,' hang up," Bennett said, summarizing a consistent tactic across impostor scams. He described a local grandparent scam where his own mother (introduced earlier by the mayor) was convinced to withdraw thousands, and he recounted a separate case where police set up a sting to arrest couriers collecting ill-gotten funds.
Bennett described an earlier local ATM‑skimming operation tied to a broader international ring, and he warned about tech-enabled tactics such as SIM‑swapping — where attackers take control of a phone number to intercept authentication codes — citing a case that led to six‑figure losses.
On prevention, Bennett recommended not trusting caller ID (spoofing is common), avoiding payment in gift cards or cryptocurrency, using credit instead of debit where possible, freezing credit or using monitoring, signing up for FTC scam alerts, verifying unexpected visitors and donations, and talking with a trusted family member before acting on requests for money or personal information.
He also warned that AI tools can produce convincing documents and voice impersonations: "AI can create deep fakes of celebrities to trick victims ... it sounds pretty real," Bennett said, and urged skepticism and verification when asked to send money or personal data.
Bennett closed by asking residents to report losses to Monroe PD and to the FTC; he said many scams originate overseas, which limits local investigators' ability to recover funds, but that early reporting and bank action can reduce harm.
