Police are alerting Greenburgh residents to a scam falsely claiming to be reputable companies. According to a Greenburgh Police Department spokesman, there has been an increase in fraud involving people who say they are with companies such as Con Edison, Apple, and Amazon. The same scams are focusing on Sleepy Hollow.
These crimes can be committed via telephone or email, police said.
Quite often the scammer will claim there is a security issue with the victim's computer or that the victim is behind on their bill and needs to make a payment to prevent an interruption of their service.
The victim may be asked to click on a link sent via email that will, without the victim knowing, allow the scammer to access the victim's computer.
They may also try to get the victim to send money via wire or in the form of gift cards.
Police said that residents should screen their calls and emails carefully.
If you have any doubts, police said you can always hang up and contact the company directly by calling the number listed on their bills or through the company's website.
Authorities said if you suspect you've become the victim of an internet or phone scam you should report the incident to the police, your bank, the Social Security Administration, and credit reporting agencies to place a fraud alert on your accounts.