Scammers Steal $5K From Bayside Senior As Part Of Citywide Scheme: PD

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — An elderly Bayside man falsely convinced that a loved one needed to be bailed out jail, handed over thousands of dollars to a pair of telephone scammers targeting New York City elders, according to the NYPD.

The 83-year-old man gave the scammers about $5,000 outside his home near 59th Avenue and 223rd Street on May 31, after the thieves convinced him that a family member was arrested and needed bail money, police said.

He was the first senior targeted in the telephone scheme, in which the scammers collected over $30,000 from three elderly New Yorkers between May and early June, the NYPD announced late Tuesday night.

In each of the instances the scammers targeted seniors over the age of 74, demanding tens of thousands of dollars — as much as $13,900 in one instance — to bail loved ones out of jail, according to police.

Police released photos of two suspects on June 28 and asked anyone with information contact the NYPD.

The telephone scam, though, isn't the only instance in which older New Yorkers have been tricked out of thousands of dollars as of late.

Earlier this month, police said they were looking for an ATM scammer who robbed dozens of people — almost all over the age of 50 — out of thousands of dollars while posing as a good Samaritan, according to the NYPD.