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VALHALLA, N.Y. There's been an increase in scams targeting town residents, particularly seniors, said Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno.
Some scams have left people with no way of recovering the money lost.
This is the crime of the future. Instead of burglarizing people or stealing, criminals are scamming accounts, Alagno said Wednesday. And when I say the crime of the future, I mean its already happening now.
According to Alagno, many senior citizens in the area have been the target of a type of phone scam in which someone poses as a friend or loved one and requests that money be wired to them to get them out of a dire situation.
Criminals are very ingenious with the ways in which they work, Alagno said. And unfortunately for some residents, theyve given the money and then theres no virtual way of ever recovering it.
On Tuesday, police reported that an 80-year-old Valhalla man said he received three suspicious phone calls from a man posing as his grandson. In that case, Alagno said, the Valhalla man notified police before sending the money. He urged all residents to be wary of money-wire schemes and identity theft.
In other police news
Thornwood Burglary: Mount Pleasant Police said they responded to a reported home burglary on Warren Avenue in Thornwood Tuesday night. Alagno said the burglary was reported at 6:15 p.m. and there was forced entry into the home. The incident is under investigation and Alagno said it appears that an undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the home.
Felony Larceny: Mount Pleasant Police responded to a domestic dispute on Pebble Brook Way in Chappaqua around 9 p.m. on Saturday after a resident said her father stole the license plate and registration sticker off her car and placed a club lock on the steering wheel. After a brief investigation, police said they arrested Phillip Ashley, 44 of the Bronx, and charged him with felony grand larceny charges.
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