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Beau Biden Warns of Telephone Scams

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WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is warning of a rising number of telephone scams targeting the elderly.

Biden's office warned Monday of two recent scams that could put consumers at risk of fraud.

In the first scam, consumers have been receiving phone calls from people claiming to be local police or federal agents. The caller says the consumer has unpaid parking fines or traffic tickets and threatens them with jail in order to obtain personal data and credit card information. The callers also use "caller ID spoofing" to appear to be legitimate government officials.

Biden says government agencies do not call people to collect fines.

In a separate scam, consumers have received calls from people claiming to represent computer companies, warning of viruses that can be detected for a fee.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.