Brunswick Hills police warn residents of door hanger scam

BRUNSWICK HILLS TWP. — Brunswick Hills police are warning residents to not give their personal information to scammers who are putting fake door hangers on residences. Police Chief Tim Sopkovich said the scam has been occurring all over Northeast Ohio, and a lot of police departments are being notified of their residents receiving the scam door hangers. "What we're gathering in the law enforcement world is that this is just a different tactic of scammers to approach your home with something to make you believe that it's urgent, and you have some debt that you have to take care of," he said. The door hangers are typically bright orange or green and say "urgent." Sopkovich said the hangers include the Ohio Revised Code definition for a private investigator and lists a spoof number to call. "They put that (Ohio Revised Code) on there to make people think that they're legit and have to contact them," he said. "The big scam is to try to get their personal information such as if they want Social Security numbers or to wire money to certain accounts or credit cards." The resident who was targeted with the scam in Brunswick Hills was an elderly man, Sopkovich said. "This one's new because they're trying to make it personal," he said. "They hung something on your door, so obviously people think, 'Maybe I am in trouble. I better call them and take care of this because it says urgent.' It's fake." Residents who have been scammed or have ring camera footage of people hanging the fake hangers should contact Brunswick Hills police at (330) 273-3722. "If somebody's coming to your door, and they're putting this on there, contact our police department and we will verify these individuals if we catch them and see if they do belong there," he said. Sopkovich encouraged residents to visit the Ohio attorney general's website at ohioprotects.org to educate themselves on the current trends of scammers and how to block scam calls. "We encourage people to not even call them," he said. "Don't give them your name, don't give them your number and don't contact them." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.