CANDIA — Police are urging residents to be mindful of phone and Internet scams, as several fraudulent acts have been reported in recent weeks.

The scams have ranged from phone calls requesting money to credit card fraud being performed in chat rooms.

Earlier this month, a 76-year-old resident received a call from someone claiming to be her grandson, police Chief Mike McGillen said. The caller stated that he had been arrested and was being held in a Canadian jail. The caller claimed he was a passenger in a car that had been stopped and drugs were found.

McGillen said the Candia resident's grandson is a student in Vermont, but was studying in Montreal, so the fraudulent caller must have been familiar with the situation. The caller requested nearly $4,000 in bail money to be wired to an international bond company in Lima, Peru, which the victim sent via Western Union.

McGillen said this is a commonly attempted scam and for residents to always verify a situation before sending money electronically.

“This is a common one, and I've found it on other websites that explained some of the scams going on,” McGillen said.

Another recent scenario that played out in town was a reshipping scam. In these situations, a relationship is established online, either through email or a chat room. At that point, the victim is asked to receive certain products that they will then ship back to an address. These items, however, have been purchased on a stolen credit card.

The situation that occurred in Candia involved a resident corresponding with someone in a chat room claiming to be an Internet book trader. The resident then received textbooks in the mail that were purchased using a credit card number that was stolen from Texas.

“It's all being purchased on fraudulent credit cards,” McGillen said. “This is happening all over the nation. Never give out personal information on the Internet if you don't know who you're talking to.”

A third instance that resulted in no money lost, as the transaction was canceled, occurred when a resident received a fraudulent check after attempting to sell a car on craigslist.org.

McGillen said it is important that when conducting business online to be fully informed of who is on the other end of transactions and that they can be trusted.

“If you think you can make money, research it further and ask questions,” he said. “Be skeptical.”