By HERB FOSTER
“They are professionals. This is what they do for a living.”
That is how Bedford Police Detective Matthew Whalen warns residents about the gangs who create scams and cause innocent, unsuspecting people to fall into their traps.
Whalen and BPD Sgt. Ahmad Warren led a seminar on “Scam Prevention” at police headquarters in Bedford Hills on Aug. 2. Over 30 people attended and learned how to best deal with phone scams, internet, mail fraud and more; and, most important, how to avoid getting caught in their traps. The audience, mostly seniors, reported many instances of scam problems which they either experienced personally or knew about from relatives and friends.
The central message delivered throughout the seminar was clear: Be aware and be suspicious. The two speakers shared a number of preventive tips: — Don’t answer the phone if you can’t identify the caller. — Don’t click on an email link unless you are sure it is legitimate. Look for typos or misspellings that indicate it is not genuine. — Do not share personal information, especially your social security number. — Change your passwords frequently.
“The concept for this seminar came from the sheer amount of fraud the department has been dealing. It has been nonstop and escalating lately.” — BPD Sgt. Ahmad Warren
The rise in reported fraud is not limited to our area. According to the FBI, elder fraud complaints increased by 14% last year and associated losses rose 11%.
BPD detectives are responsible for following up on each complaint and seeking prosecution. However, the process is difficult and requires many steps, according to police. When someone reports a scam to headquarters, they need to request a subpoena from the Westchester DA’s office. When that subpoena is delivered, the case is referred to another office, which requires another subpoena, and on it goes. “It is like peeling an onion,” said Whalen, “it takes a lot of work, over several months, even years.”
Unfortunately, in most cases monies lost are not recoverable. The thieves typically use burner phones and fake internet addresses, and most operate from foreign countries that are nearly impossible for authorities to reach. Many work out of massive call centers continuously dialing possible victims, waiting for someone to answer the phone and establish a connection.
Nevertheless, the department has been able to make some arrests. Recently, they recovered $100,000 from scammers who were using a courier to pick up money from a target. The police were able to get the victim and the victim’s bank to participate. They put an officer in the victim’s car when he went to the bank. During the entire operation, the victim was required to be on the phone while the scammers were able to monitor online that the transaction had been completed. When the courier showed up and the money delivered, arrests were made. Interestingly, the local victim had been asked to provide $50,000 but when the police got a search warrant to examine the courier’s car, they found an additional $50,000 which the courier had picked earlier from a victim. When that party was notified that the money had been had recovered, they were totally surprised — they did not know they had been a victim of a scam.
One ongoing obstacle to addressing the growing problem is the lack of reporting. According to Warren, “Many people are embarrassed. They feel that they have been taken advantage of — that it is their fault and they see no recourse. They hesitate to put a spotlight on themselves,” he noted.
However, there is an alternate way of reporting scams. The FBI runs the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, a central hub for reporting cybercrime. Their website is ic3.gov. They emphasize the importance of filing a complaint: “Your information is invaluable to helping the FBI and its partners bring cybercriminals to justice.”
The police department urges residents to call them if they have experienced any issues or have questions regarding a potential scam. They stress that it is important that they know what is happening in the area, so they can partner with the town senior advocate and other agencies to provide support and guidance. To that end, the department plans to run similar seminars in the future to continue to build awareness of the problem.
Chief of Police Melvin Padilla said after the event, “We were excited to see such a large turnout for this scam awareness and prevention seminar. By making our senior residents aware of the more common tactics scammers use, we may be able help them reduce their chances of becoming a victim.”