State Police warn public of current phone scams

The New York State Police are currently investigating several telephone scams wherein the callers are utilizing fabricated scenarios in an attempt to defraud the victim of funds.

Common fraud scenarios include; the caller stating that he is from the IRS and that the a lawsuit has been filed against the subject for failure to pay taxes, or that the caller is from a local utility company and the call taker needs to send funds immediately or their utility will be suspended, or, lastly, that the call taker’s family member has been arrested in an foreign county and needs money wired for bail.  In several recent incidents the perpetrators have utilized technology to show the calling phone number on the victims caller id to be that of an official or governmental agency.

The State Police is cautioning anyone who receives a suspicious phone call in which the caller is requesting immediate payment by cash, check, credit card or money wires, to not provide any personal or banking information, hang up and independently confirm with the calling agency or family member that the call is not an attempt at fraud.