Crime & Safety

Police Warn Residents of Phone Scam

An increasing amount of residents are being victimized, police said.

Nassau County Police have issued a phone scam warning after receiving an increase in calls from residents who have been victimized.

Police said that the telephone scams take various forms:

  • The victim owes back taxes or has an unpaid utility bill and if it is not paid right away, the victim’s bank account will be frozen, a lien will be put on their accounts or home, or they will be arrested.
  • The victim’s grandchild needs money to be bailed out of jail.
  • The victim’s relative was involved in a bad accident and needs money.
  • The victim’s relative is stranded in a foreign country.
Police said that the victim is then directed to wire money in order to pay off the bills or help a family member. Many times the victim will wire the money because the caller sounds convincing due to the fact that the caller has some basic information about the victim or relative, police said.  

Some victims have lost significant amounts of money in these scams, police said. 

Police have the following advice for residents:
  • If you receive a phone call of this nature, make sure you verify the identity of the person calling.
  • Prior to sending any money, contact the relative that is in trouble or another family member who should know the whereabouts of the relative that may be in trouble in order to verify the caller’s information.
  • If you are not sure of the validity of the caller, please call 911 in order that we may send a police officer to assist you.

If you have any questions about this advisory or telephone scams in general, contact the Second Precinct Problem Oriented Police Office at 573-6870.

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