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"We are seeing an increase again in phone scams,'' Lt. Scott Craig said on Friday, noting they fall into three general categories.
In one, the caller identifies themselves as an agent of the IRS. This fraudulent agent accuses the potential victim of failing to properly file their taxes which will result in legal action and or arrest. They attempt to manipulate the intended victim into sending a wire transfer to a specific account.
In the "arrest scam," residents received a phone call from a male caller identifying himself as an officer from a distant police department. The unidentified caller claims to have the resident’s relative under arrest. The target victim is instructed to get a $2,500 money order and wire it to bail their relative out of jail.
And in the "Microsoft scam, an unidentified caller claims to represent Microsoft and says the target victim’s computer has a software virus and or problems. This caller requests remote access to the victim’s personal computer to provide an update or bug correction and needs some personal information to complete the process. This caller requests the victim's date of birth and social security number to complete the process.
Lt. Craig reminded residents to protect their personal information and be cautious of any caller "phishing for personal information. "These scammers may have some of your information already and even go as far as having a relative’s name,'' he said.
Contact the City of Rye Police Department at (914) 967-1234 if you have any questions or want to report an incident.
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