The Brick Township Police Department would like to remind residents to be aware of financial scams during the holiday season.

Over the last week, officers of the Brick Township Police Department have responded to several locations, where people have been the victim of telephone financial scams.

In one of the instances, a local business was advised that JCP&L would disconnect their electric service unless they sent a significant amount of money via pre paid money cards.  Further investigation revealed that the caller was committing a fraud upon the business owner.

JCP&L was contacted and advised that they do not use outside companies to handle their disconnect services, do not request people to pay via money cards, and do not request personal information over the phone.

They also advised that they have received several reports of these types of scams.

Additionally, another township resident provided a fake charity their checking account information when they were advised that they had previously promised donations. Several thousand dollars were removed from their account before this scam was discovered.

Residents are reminded to never give any of their personal information over the phone or the internet.

If you are contacted by anyone requesting this type of information, please try to record their telephone number, and verify as best as you can.

If you have any concerns at all, please contact the Brick Township Police Department at 732-262-1100. An officer will respond and attempt to help you verify what is being requested. [TLS]