Scam Alert: 'Spoofing' Calls Being Made By Scammers Pretending To Be Cops, Municipal Officials

On Friday, Jan. 25, a town resident reported receiving a suspicious phone call that appeared to originate from the Greenburgh Police Department, Chief Chris McNerney said on Saturday, Jan. 26. 

The caller claimed to be a Greenburgh police officer and wanted to discuss the woman's credit report. 

"Fortunately, the resident became suspicious and hung up the phone," McNerney said. "We have learned that similar scam phone calls have been received by residents of other communities and appear to originate from municipal phone numbers (police, tax collector, village manager’s office, etc.)."

McNerney also released a list of other known phone scams.

"Tax season is coming and we have seen a consistent scam the last several years where scammers pose as IRS representatives and demand immediate payment for unpaid taxes," McNerney said. "As a general rule, you should never agree to pay anything over the phone when solicited."

Here's a rundown of the scams:

IRS Scam

• The scammer will pretend to be an IRS representative
• Scammer claims that certified letters were sent to victim’s address but were returned as undeliverable
• Scammer usually tries to scare and pressure the victim by telling them that they owe the IRS a certain amount of money
• The scammer tells the victim that payment must be made immediately to avoid arrest
• Victims are usually asked to pay via a pre-paid cash card or credit card over the phone
• The phone number that appears on caller ID fraudulently appears to be that of the IRS.

Warrant and Arrest Threats

• The Scammer states that a loved one has been arrested or that the victim is being investigated for certain criminal violations
• Scammer will demand immediate payment over the phone with the threat of prolonged incarceration for a loved one or arrest of the victim
• Scammer often pretends to be from a Police Department, DEA, FBI or a foreign Police Department where family might be vacationing out of the country
• Victims are asked to pay bail or a fine over the phone by using a pre-paid cash card or a credit card
• The phone number that appears on caller ID fraudulently appears to be that of the law enforcement agency

Computer Tech Support Scam (occasionally associated with Microsoft)

• Scammer pretends to be computer technical support
• Scam also can appear with a pop-up message on a computer indicating that the computer is locked with instructions to call phone number to repair
• Scammer usually tells the victim that their computer is sending error messages and has a virus
• Scammer usually asks for remote access to victim’s computer to try to fix the problem (this gives the scammer access to all sensitive data that may be stored on the computer)
• The Scammer may also try to convince the victim to buy software that will fix non-existent computer problem(s).
• Victims are usually asked to pay via a pre-paid cash card or credit card over the phone.
• The phone number that appears on caller ID fraudulently appears to be that of the Computer Tech Company

Apple Computer Scam

• Automated call claims to be from Apple Support
• Automated call advises the victim that their iCloud Account has been hacked and they need to verify the victim’s account details
• Automated call is then redirected to a live Scammer who is supposed to help take care of the issue
• Scammer proceeds to request personal information and credentials to log into victim’s Apple accounts
• Some victims have been asked to pay a fee to have antivirus software installed on their computer or iPad.
• It is not antivirus software that they're paying for, it is usually malware.
• The phone number that appears on caller ID fraudulently appears to be that of Apple Support

Free Vacation Scam

• Scammer states that victim was entered into a raffle and was selected as the winner
• Scammer claims the prize is a free vacation to a tropical island for your whole family that’s valued at several thousand dollars.
• Scammer describes the accommodations as a luxury five-star hotel.
• Scammer states that in order to receive the prize, the victim must pay a standard tax of “just” a few hundred dollars.
• Victims are usually asked to pay via a pre-paid cash card or credit card over the phone
• There is no vacation, no prize and the victim is scammed out of the tax amount charged
• The phone number that appears on caller ID fraudulently appears to be that of the travel promotion company

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