DELMAR – On Wednesday, Dec. 13, the Bethlehem Police Department put out a public alert informing the public about two incidents involving thieves scamming local residents.
“It is not a new type, but what raised concern is that it happened twice in almost the same way,” Bethlehem Deputy Chief James Rexford said. “They were not very far apart, timewise, and they had very specific information about residents. It could be the same person doing this.”
The “scammers” contact elderly residents stating there is an emergency relating to a family member or that bail money is needed to get a family member out of jail. The scammer requests a large amount of money in cash.
In both of these cases, the thieves sent an uber to pick up the package of money, Rexford said.
The Uber in both cases drove to a gas station in the lower Hudson Valley and met a person to give the package.
“We are trying to figure out how they are identifying the victims and how they are getting the victim’s information, like the actual names of relatives,” Rexford said. “Our concern is that if there are already two in this area, there will most likely be more attempts.”
In the two cases being investigated by Bethlehem Detectives, one victim was defrauded of $16,000 and the other was over $10,000.
“Detectives were able to recover some of the money for one of the victims,” he said.
Police are applying for search warrants for phone records at this point in the hope of getting more. The investigation is continuing.
Police request that if you receive a call of this nature to first contact the family member in question to validate any claims and then call the police department to report the incident. The non-emergency number is 518-439-9973
