Beware of Phone Scams: Tips to Protect Your Personal Information

NEW YORK.- “Your daughter had an accident” This was the message that a supposed doctor gave Cuchi Star, a Bronx barber, over the phone.

The man on the phone assured him that he needed information about his daughter to be able to admit her to the hospital.

“Your daughter had an accident, can you come for her? Some African-Americans just robbed her and she gave this reference number,” said the voice of the man who spoke in Spanish.

The call caught the barber off guard, who shared some information with the scammer.

“Supposedly (calls me) a doctor and says, oh look, your daughter had an accident, what is her name? At that moment you get a chill inside ”, story.

“He wanted me to give him her name and (date of) birth to admit her to the doctor.”

Days after, another family member received a similar call.

“Mommy I had an accident, I’m with some doctors”, called a woman posing as a girl.

With that hook, the scammers began to get information about the minor, until the person reacted and stopped paying attention to them.

These calls have become common in recent days among Hispanic citizens.

In the last month, three people close to Cuchi have received similar calls.

They don’t always look for money, sometimes They are looking for something more valuable: personal information.

Retired NYPD Lieutenant Sammy Ravelo shared some recommendations to avoid falling for these tricks.

Ravelo points out that the information is very valuable to scammers because they use it to commit crimes.

“They can sell the information, some of them used to take out credit cards in people’s names that they have taken away the information,” he said.

“They can also start buying property on credit.”

The expert pointed out that one should avoid giving out personal information and contacting the authorities.

“Don’t give out your personal information, put a security on your (network) page so they can’t see who your friends are.”

“If they call you and threaten you or you think something is happening to you, contact the authorities.”

also recommended contact the alleged relative who calls you to verify the information and that you are safe.