Chaverim of Rockland successfully intervened live as a scammer targeted a Monsey-area woman, Monsey Scoop reported Thursday.
The victim received a phone call from an individual posing as a detective, claiming there was suspicious activity on her bank account. To make the scam appear legitimate, the scammers spoofed the Ramapo Police Department’s phone number and warned her that failure to comply would result in her arrest and frozen accounts.
In a state of panic, the woman took a taxi to the M&T Bank on Route 59, where she withdrew $5,000 from her account. Following the scammer’s instructions, she then proceeded to CVS at the corner of Grandview Avenue and Route 306 to purchase gift cards. However, the CVS teller, recognizing something was off, refused to sell her the gift cards as she did not have her ID. The woman called her husband to bring her ID and informed him she would return home to retrieve it.
After this conversation, her husband lost contact with her and, growing increasingly concerned, reached out to Chaverim for assistance. Simultaneously, the scammer, who was still on the phone with her, instructed her to cancel her taxi ride home, promising to send a new one to take her to a different store where she could buy the gift cards without needing an ID.
Upon receiving the call from the woman’s husband, Chaverim quickly dispatched its members, initiating a search across local stores known for selling gift cards. They also coordinated with Arrive Taxi Company to track her movements and deployed drones and camera units to review surveillance footage.
One of Chaverim’s members eventually spotted the woman exiting Sephora at the Nanuet Mall with a stack of gift cards in hand. By this time, she had already given the scammers $2,000 worth of card numbers. The member immediately approached her, explained that she was being scammed, and managed to recover the remaining $3,000 in gift cards before any further loss occurred. Though initially resistant over fear she would be arrested, the woman was reassured and convinced of her safety.
Meanwhile, Chaverim’s Coordinator Yossi Margeratten had been working with the Ramapo Police Department to have Verizon ping her phone. However, because the woman was not considered in immediate danger, Verizon declined the request without a court order. Fortunately, before the court order could be obtained, the woman was successfully located.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
11 Responses
We pride ourselves on our isolation. We pride ourselves about not even being aware about much that goes on in the secular world. That is great & should be constantly worked on.
BUT, when in 2024 there are still Jews (it’s been reported quite a few times) that don’t know Police Departments don’t ask you to go to a store to buy gift cards & give them the card numbers over the phone we have gone to far.
p.s. I know this personally. I went to pay a fine at the govt office. I handed them a gift card to “Moishe’s Heimish Fleish Gesheft” & they refused to accept it. I raved about the Cholent to no avail. So I tried with a gift card to “Bubby Goldas Schmaltz Herring Co.” & they also refused that gift card. I really don’t know if they’re Antisemitic or just don’t like Jewish food.
People need more education on what to look for in scammers, and otherwise we need to all rely on Hashem to save us.
It’s doesn’t take a grosse chachom to know when you are about to get scammed. If someone calls you and you don’t know them and they want money, they are 99.9% a scammer
None of the goverment agencies call out of the blue.
People fall victims to these scammers since they don’t know.
We need to have a Vaad to make the oilam know the new reality of life, scammers are everywhere and they call on phone nonstop.
If you read articles like this then you can to be aware and people won’t go crying to the rebbe that someone stole all their money.
https://brothke.medium.com/18-tips-on-how-not-to-get-scammed-when-your-phone-rings-6094e1f54427?sk=8a71bfa2bea3856e120a14d0879a793f
I don’t understand how this phone call played out
“Detective”: your debit card was involved in fraud were going to arrest you if you don’t buy gift cards and give us the number
Victim: ok, how do I pay for them? With my debit card that was involved in fraud?
But anyways shoyach to Chaverim for saving this lady from losing all her money
Keep telling us that the Internet is assur. That’s not helping anybody. Everybody needs to be educated or relocated to an undisclosed location underground for their own protection.
Wow!,
Thanks to Chavarim, and for the CVS teller.
why wouldn’t all stores know that if you buy more than 100-200 worth of gift cards then the client is probably a victim of a scammer.
Kuvult,
You are 100% correct. Not sure why you thought the second half of your comment would be helpful though. This is like the cookie cutter scam, anyone living in 2024 should already be well aware of this type of scam. There are way more sophisticated ones but this is a simple one to spot. I watched a clip of a very experienced attorney who almost got scammed in a more sophisticated way. Noone is immune, we need to be educated and aware. The first thing this woman should have done is hang up and call the Ramapo PD to verify if indeed their detective was calling her. Spoofing is easy in our world.
UncleMo,
The last part was partially a joke & partially a friendly way to make a point.
If you’re naive enough to believe a Law Enforcement Agency would have you withdraw money from the bank, drive to a store to buy gift cards & get the numbers from you as a way to pay your debt & avoid arrest, you’re naive enough to believe you can pay a parking ticket with a gift card from “Moishe’s Heimish Fleish Gesheft”
Gift cards and crypto are the currency of the grifters.
I need some advice. I am now working on a cryptocurrency recovery with an organization called D. E. F. T. R. E. C. O. U. P. C. O. M, and we completed some transaction validation. They were able to recoup 90% of my loss of $200k USD, but I have only gotten $150k USD in the two days since we began. I’m frightened; I’d like to know if they took the rest of my money or if it’s impossible to recoup everything I’ve lost. This has been the most difficult period of my life.