Photo by N. Bower

By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

December 20, 2023: This incredibly joyous time of giving also becomes a time of taking as scammers seem to want to capitalize on the goodwill and the gift giving of the season.

New scams are out there, and many are the old tried and true ones.

Most prolific are a variety of phone scams, chief among them a call from the IRS. Callers identify themselves as IRS agents alerting you in a very urgent tone about an active IRS warrant out for you and money is required expeditiously to clear up the warrant. Bottom line, the IRS never reaches out by phone, so immediately hang up.

In a particularly frightening and insidious phone scam, a caller will state that a relative, usually a grandchild, has been arrested and needs money to keep his record clean. The receiver of the call is directed to purchase debit cards to post bond, pay a fine or relay credit card information to the caller. The callers are quite sophisticated and share accurate current information about family members via trolling the Internet. Before offering any information, always confirm the situation with a family member and do not fall for the line often used warning you not to call your children and get your grandchild in trouble.

Some all too common trends in recent phone scams include calls claiming to lower your credit card interest rate, help with student loans or fix your credit rating.

Scammers can also easily find out what kind of car you drive or when and where you bought it so they can urge you to buy overpriced or worthless service contracts or so-called extended warranties. Never buy one on the phone.

Scammers also insist you pay a certain way that makes it hard to get your money back; methods include by wire, gift cards, cryptocurrency or payment apps.

Anyone who insists you pay by one of these methods only is a scammer.  

Scammers can also make any name or number show up on your caller ID. This is called “spoofing” so even if it looks like perhaps a legitimate government agency or the Social Security Administration or even a local 914 number, it could be a scammer so let the answering machine pick it up.

The most prevalent fraudulent calls in our area include invoking the New York electric and gas utilities. The caller claims that the customer’s utilities will be shut off in minutes due to an outstanding account balance unless the customer makes immediate payment. They usually call right before dusk to heighten the anxiety. In order to “help” you, they ask for your customer information including utility account numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and demand payment in those suspect, non-easy to retrieve methods. All of our utilities give customers repeat notices prior to termination, including reaching out with past due balances and offer payment options that are never of the suspect or non-traceable variety.

The real bottom of the barrel scammers are the ones that call asking you to donate to disaster relief organizations, local police enforcement agencies, veterans or money for kids and families suffering from cancer. Always look up a charity on the internet before giving regardless if solicited by phone or ordinary mail service as many are nonexistent, nefarious or have overhead that only benefits those running the charities.

With the holiday season and the volume of online package deliveries at an all-time high, so are package thefts. Cars often trail UPS trucks and remove parcels from the porch before the driver has even turned the corner. An easy way to prevent this is to ask for a tracking number on any deliveries as most major shipping companies offer this service at no charge. The number allows you to track your package and notifies you when it will be delivered. Other options include asking a delivery service to leave your packages at a side or back door or an enclosed porch where they are out of sight. If you are away for most of the day, have your packages delivered to your workplace, a shipping service, or delivered to the home of a relative or neighbor who can be there to accept them. Amazon also has over 100 “hub lockers” in New York City alone as secure delivery sites.

Home security/camera systems are the utmost deterrent, but even much less expensive video doorbells aid in package safety as this is completely a crime of opportunity.

In a new twist on the delivery scam, criminals are using stolen credit cards via identity theft and ordering goods – usually high-end purses and electronics - and having them delivered to totally random addresses including perhaps yours. They are smart enough to have package tracking and they just hope to get to the package before you do. If they don’t get to your porch in time, they have been known to arrive in UPS, USPS or FedEx uniforms and ask to reclaim the package delivered “in error”. Again a complete red flag as the USPS, UPS and FedEx never send drivers back to retrieve packages delivered in error, so call our police desk immediately.

All of the above could be alleviated by shopping local and carrying your packages home with a nice walk benefitting your health, sales tax dollars heading directly to the School and Village Hall and most importantly, your purchases support our supporters – the loyal merchants of Bronxville.

As a corollary, burglary is also a big issue in co-ops, condos and apartments so please be vigilant about the intercom system. Be cautious. If you get a buzz and weren’t expecting anyone, never buzz someone in without talking to them first to ascertain their identity and purpose. If you do not know them, do not hit the entry button.

Bottom line, trust your instincts. If it just doesn’t feel right, it most probably isn’t and always call the Police Desk at 914-337-0500 as your early alert to a scam could help a neighbor.