Poughkeepsie, NY Area Residents Warned of New Highly Illegal Scam
Scammers in the Hudson Valley are not necessarily a new thing by any means. Over the last couple of years, various law enforcement agencies have had to issue warnings to the public regarding various types of scams that others have used to try swindling honest people out of their hard-earned money.
Well, just yesterday the New York State Police from Troop K: Poughkeepsie issued a warning to the public regarding a new scam where not only are scammers attempting to rip individuals off but, this scam is also designed to scare potential victims.
Scam Calls from Fake Law Enforcement
The official press release from New York State Police did not mince words. The new scam conjured up by these professional rip-off artists is that they are impersonating actual members of the New York State Police, which is a felony crime.
As scammers usually do, they're trying to get their hands on your cash. The press release states emphatically that "...law enforcement never calls or emails you about paying them money". As reprehensible as all this, it's the tactics that are arguably even dirtier. This specific scam has one goal; by posing State Police, these scammers are looking to scare and intimidate potentially into giving them what they want.
Scammers Tactics
The press release goes on to explain just exactly what these scammers' tactics are and they're aggressive to say the least. The masterminds behind this State Trooper impersonation scam are apparently...
- Demanding payment for a missed court date, jury duty, or other legal matter
- Claiming there is a warrant for your arrest
- Threatening arrest unless you pay a fine
- Directing you to buy a prepaid money transfer card and provide the card number
- Disguising the phone number so it appears valid on the caller ID
The real New York State Police though of course have also advised the public about what they should do to protect themselves from these fakers.
How to Protect Yourself Against Scammers
According to the New York State Police, there are some very simple steps residents can take in order to avoid falling victim to these scammers. Those steps would be...
- Refuse to give the scammer any information
- Do not send any payments
- Hang up and do not trust that caller ID shows their real identity
- Record their number and save any voicemails
- Find the real number and call the law enforcement agency the scammer claimed to represent
In addition to these methods, State Police also encourage individuals within the Troop K: Poughkeepsie area who have fallen victim to this or another scam to contact them at (845) 677-7300 or contact via email at kpio@troopers.ny.gov.
In addition, anyone who thinks or suspects they have encountered a scam but has not fallen victim to it, may contact and report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission.
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Gallery Credit: Mike Brant