Beware of Postal Inspector Scam

Scam Alert!!! There's a new scam making the rounds. Take Notice: The scam works like this. You get a call from a fake “Postal Inspector,” using a technique known as Caller ID Spoofing to make these calls appear to originate from the Postal Inspection Service “877” phone number. The caller will explain you have been involved in criminal activity or your assets will be forfeited if you don’t send money to a USPIS account. Don’t take the bait. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service® does not call customers from the “877” phone number and we will never request personally identifiable information or ask you to send money to resolve any issue no matter where the call originated.

If you receive this call, report it to the real Postal Inspectors at 877-876-2455. Remember this phone number works like a one way street. You call us to report a crime, and we will take your complaint, but we will never call you back from this number. Let's stop these scammers in their tracks.

Scam Alert

Local business in the Village of Tarrytown and the City of Rye was recently scammed. A person presenting themselves as the Fire Inspector from those Communities appeared and demanded cash to pay a Village inspection fee, which was paid to them. No municpal employee will never ask for or accept cash or other payment in the field. This kind of scam and other similar scams could happen to anyone – a homeowner or a business owner – and could also happen in the instance of someone posing as a representative from a utility like Con Edison or Verizon, a Federal agency such as FEMA or the Small Business Administration (SBA) or some other company or organization.

To avoid being scammed, please keep the following tips in mind:
· Always ask for official identification.
· No Village employee will ever ask for payment, especially of cash, in the field. All documents and payments should be submitted at Village Hall and by check made out to the Village of Elmsford.
· Do not give out personal or confidential information such as your birthday, social security number, bank account number, or other personal or confidential information.
· If anyone attempts to demand cash or other payment from you on behalf of the Village of Elmsford, or another community, please call your Police Department to report criminal activity.
· If you have surveillance cameras, please retain and preserve the information and share it with the Police Department to assist in the investigation.
· Do not allow anyone to coax, coerce or bully you into buying or paying for something you do not want and/or did not ask for.
· For help with dangerous or possible criminal activities, please call your Police Department.

This message was provided by the Village of Elmsford.

Don't Fall For This Scam

Apparently, we need to prepare for these phony phone call scams as there are many going on right now, especially utilizing Covid19 Virus. 

The phony phone call will go something like this: 

Caller: “Good morning, According to our system, you are likely to have been in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This means that you now need to self-isolate for 7 days and take a COVID-19 test.”

You: “OK. Can you tell me who that person was?”

Caller: “I'm not able to tell you that. That is confidential information.”

You: “Right. Um... so ....”

Caller: “But you do need to be tested within the next 72 hours. So can I just get the best mailing address so that we can send a kit to you?”

You: “Ok (gives address)”

Caller: “Thank you - and I just need to take a payment card so that we can finalize this and send the kit to you.”

You: “Sorry - a payment card? I thought this was all free?”

Caller: “No - I'm afraid not. There is a one-off fee of $50 for the kit and test results. Could you read off the long card number for me, please, when you're ready.”

You: “No - that's not right.”

Caller: “I'm afraid it is. Can you give me the card number please - this is very important, and there are penalties for not complying.”

Please just hang up! Don’t allow them to trick you into giving your credit card information to them.

This is how scammers work. And vulnerable people will fall for it.

Don't fall for it! Please share this information with your family and neighbors.

Beware Of ConEd Scammers

A reader posted this on a neighborhood website and we thought it was important enough to post here to alert our readers to exert caution when receiving what appears to be a phone call from ConEd. Please let your family, friends and neighbors know about this. If this happens to you, please call the police department and report it.

Con Edison phone scam

Con Ed scammers are still active. I had a call today - with caller ID that indicated Con Edison and their correct 800 number - from a "dispatcher" informing me they'd be turning off my electricity today due to unpaid bills. They had my address but not my account number. Of course I knew I have no unpaid bills, as I auto-pay, and I asked for the supervisor, to see what I might pull out of them, and instead he gave me a different 844 number to call - the "Con Ed billing department" - which of course it is not. I wanted to bring it to neighbors' attention, particularly because the caller ID looks legit. I didn't let the guy get as far as telling me to run down to CVS and get a debit card - but I'm sure that's where they were going. I reported this to Con Ed and government officials - I would speak to the police as well, especially f I had actually been scammed rather than the threat. Be careful - this is more insidious than the usual obvious scams.

United Water Warns Customers About Phone Scams

The concern about scams is an important issue. Consequently, United Water has just issued an announcement about telephone scams being tried on their customers. Most of Unincorporated Greenburgh residents are not served by United Water. Typically, the residents of the Town's Villages are their customers, specifically Ardsley, Hastings and Dobbs Ferry. Information posted on their website indicates that their customers are found in New Rochelle, Rye, Rye Brook, Bronxville, Tuckahoe, North Pelham, Pelham Manor, Ardsley, Hastings-on-Hudson, Port Chester, and Dobbs Ferry.

The water company noted that several customers have received telephone calls requesting payment for overdue bills. As such, United Water is advising the recipients of suspicious or questionable calls to hang up and call customer service at either (877)-266-9109, or (877)-426-8969.

If someone comes to your house claiming to be from the company, be aware that United Water employees wear uniforms and ID badges with the company name and logo, it said. The badge shows the employee’s color photograph, name, job title and date the badge was issued. Customers should also look for the white United Water van with a prominent company logo. If customers have any doubts, they should have the person wait outside while they call United Water to verify that the company has sent someone to their home. If they suspect they’re involved in a scam, they can also contact local police, the company said.