Another scam averted thanks to vigilant banker

Another attempted scam foiled in part by an alert branch manager of a Billerica bank.

About a month ago we recognized two bank branch managers — including one from Billerica — for helping prevent an elderly couple from losing $80,000 to a variation of the grandparent scam.

And now a little more than a month removed from that attempted scam, Billerica police again worked with a local bank manager to prevent an elderly woman from losing thousands of dollars to another fraudulent scheme.

A TD Bank manager contacted police on April 9 to alert them to a possible fraud in progress at the bank’s 499 Boston Road location, police said in a statement.

Officers found that a 75-year-old woman had withdrawn $7,000 earlier in the day and returned to the bank to withdraw more cash, police said. She had received a call from an unknown person who said she won $220,000 in a contest. But before receiving her winnings, she had to pay the taxes owed.

The woman was instructed to buy gift cards and provide the activation numbers over the phone before depositing $7,000 into another bank account. Police determined this was a fraud attempt and worked with the manager to place a hold on the deposit.

Detectives were able to regain the money spent on the gift cards, and it appears the woman won’t lose any of her money, police said.

The investigation into the fraud attempt remains ongoing.

“This was a very close call in which a woman nearly lost thousands of dollars to a scam attempt,” Billerica Police Chief Roy Frost said in the statement. “I’d like to thank and praise the branch manager and TD Bank for their attention to this matter …”

Though we’ve highlighted basic scam-prevention tips before, these incidents indicate they can’t be publicized enough.

Here’s some advice from the Federal Trade Commission:

• Never click on a link from an unexpected message, either through email, text, or social media message, even if it seems to come from a company you use or that is familiar.

• Do not pay anyone who contacts you unexpectedly. Most companies and government agencies won’t have you pay something over the phone, through a wire transfer, or email.

• Make sure your electronic devices are updated regularly to help protect against viruses and malware.

• If you believe you have fallen victim to a scam or are talking to someone that you believe is a scammer, report the situation to the FTC and your local law enforcement agency.

Scammers correctly realize that senior citizens represent their best targets. That vulnerability can have costly consequences.

If not for the conscientious actions of trained professionals.

Survey shows Mass. residents prefer Biden as the lesser of two bad choices

The results of a recent sampling of some Massachusetts residents found that they share the rest of the nation’s dismay with the dysfunctional state of our politics.

But being Bay Staters, that didn’t prevent a decided number of them from expressing their displeasure specifically towards a certain presidential candidate.

A poll of 1,002 Massachusetts residents — 86% of whom said they’re registered voters — conducted late last month by the MASSINC Polling Group found that the majority of respondents characterized the current political climate as “very bad” or in “a crisis.”

More than 70% of those surveyed at the request of GBH and Commonwealth Beacon fell into those two categories.

And nearly half are disappointed that Joe Biden and Donald Trump are their likely presidential choices.

When given multiple options to express how they feel about the prospect of a Bidentrump rematch this fall, the majority reacted negatively, ranging from disappointed, to annoyed, to angry.

But as you might expect in this blue state, regardless of how they feel about it, those surveyed preferred Biden over Trump by nearly a 2-1 margin.

Biden was the initial preference of 44% of respondents to Trump’s 26%, with independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. earning a 7% share of those polled.

Kennedy’s total may be inconsequential in Massachusetts, but that kind of support could hurt Biden’s chances in more evenly divided states.

The poll also buoyed the chances of the ballot measure backed by state Auditor Diana Dizoglio to give her office the authority to inspect the inner workings of the Legislature.

Slightly more than half — 53% — said they’d vote yes in November on that question, with just 12% currently opposed. However, 35% of respondents remain on the fence.

But apparently no matter the political affiliation — be it Unenrolled, Democrat or Republican — most agree that the dysfunction displayed by Congress and other policymakers at the federal and state level continues to cause great concern among the electorate.

And a Biden-trump presidential race will do nothing to assuage their unease.