A Mt. Laurel CVS was the latest victim in a string of bomb threats related to the growing telephone scam.
On Aug. 28, the CVS on Route 38 was evacuated after an unknown subject called the store and said bombs had been placed inside the building.
Police officials said the caller asked the manager to load several Green Dot MoneyPak debit cards with $500 each and provide the card numbers over the phone. The caller threatened to detonate the bombs if the manager did not comply.
The store was evacuated and searched, but no explosives were found. Mt. Laurel Police later traced the call to India.
The threat was found to be just another case in the telephone scam. Anonymous callers have been phoning businesses across the area with similar threats and demands.
Lt. Stephen Riedener from the Mt. Laurel Police said they are fully aware of the scam, but did not encounter a threat until the CVS call.
“This is the first actual one where the manager was told to follow their instructions,” Riedener said.
The biggest issue has been the bomb threats. While explosives were not found at the CVS, and have not been found in other cases, the police are forced to take the threats seriously.
“Public safety is always paramount, even if we think it’s a scam to begin with,” Riedener said.
The scam is not the only one out there. Riedener said there have been a lot of different phone scams happening in the past few months. These include callers posing as a government official or PSE&G employee. In these cases, the caller will call a residence and ask them to send a Green Dot MoneyPak card preloaded with money. The caller will threaten to shut off the resident’s electricity or arrest them.
Riedener said police and utility companies will never ask for a Green Dot MoneyPak card from resident. To help convey this, the police have used social media to inform the community.
“We want the word to get out that the scam is out there,” Riedener said.
Mt. Laurel Police have released the following tips to help residents avoid falling for these scams.
• Be suspicious of callers who demand immediate payment for any reason.
• Never wire money, provided debit, credit or Green Dot MoneyPak card numbers to someone you don’t know.
• Know criminals like to use the Green Dot cards because they are untraceable and the crime can be committed from anywhere in the world.
• Utility companies and government agencies will not contact you demanding immediate payment by MoneyPak.
