Passaic County [NJ] Sheriff warns of phone scam
By: Lucas Frau
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Scammers continue to prey on New Jersey residents, so the Passaic County Sheriff's Office took to social media to warn people about a new scheme.
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The Sheriff's Office posted a message on Instagram saying the department is aware of calls people have been receiving from a person who goes by "Detective Hightower."
..... Officials confirmed that those calls are scams and said no one at the department goes by that name.
..... People who receive such a call are urged to hang up immediately and not to give any personal information to the caller. The Sheriff's Office said officials would never request personal or financial information over the phone.
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The sheriff did not immediately respond to questions about how many people alerted the department about the scam and the specific details of the call.
..... "Detective Hightower" may sound familiar. The name was sued for a character in the movie franchise "Police Academy," which began in the 1980s. The fictional character, Moses Hightower, was portrayed by former NFL player Bubba Smith.
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Scammers target victims across the country, and many in New Jersey have fallen for the trap.
..... Earlier thus year, [2026] the state Health Department warned residents about reported scam calls in which the perpetrator would pose as an individual from the state agency, telling people someone illegally use their name to buy prescription drugs and then requesting personal information.
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In 2025, an E-ZPass scam was circulating in New Jersey. a criminal would put several phone numbers in a text message group chat, seeking payment for "an unpaid toll invoice," and would attach a link to the text message. Bergen county consumer Affairs confirm,ed that this was a scam and told recipients not to open the link and to ignore the message.
..... Text message and phone call scams have been on the rise nationally and in New Jersey. Reports from the Federal Trade Commission showed that New Jersey residents lost $251.7 million to fraud in 2023 in 52,478 incidents.