NEW YORK – Scammers always manage to take their victims down and rob them. And they do it in different ways.
The most common scam cases in New York City occur when people withdraw $1,000 to $15,000 from the bank, which is when the suspects, mostly working in groups of 3 and 5 people, pose as good Samaritans to rob .
This was described by New York City Police Financial Crimes Division detective Julio Tejada, who pointed out that these scammers puncture the tire of the victim’s vehicle and then approach and “help” them.
“They offer help to fix the tire and the person leaves the money inside the car,” said Tejada. “While the person is distracted, the other guy comes to get the money from the other side of the car and leaves.”
Given this, the Police recommends people not stop to talk to anyone when withdrawing money from the bank. And this is not the only type of scam during the Christmas season.
A more modern scam is with what are called digital pickpockets, where scammers ask for donations to support a cause and ask them to be only through applications like Venmo or Zelle. Students are almost always the victims.
“When the students offer them cash, they don’t want cash, they want donations with Venmo or Zelle because they grab the victims’ phone and make the money transfers to an account that is organized by gang members,” Tejada said. “In one day they can make $2,000 or $3,000. In a week they can make $20,000.”
That’s why they recommend never lending your phone to a stranger.
2023-12-14 21:56:50
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