Scammer Defrauds Brooklyn Residents Of Thousands, NYPD Says

BROOKLYN, NY — Police are sounding the alarm about a recent surge in criminal activity that is specifically targeting unaware New Yorkers around Brooklyn.

Last month, two incidents occurred across the borough, during which more than $74,000 was swindled from two victims in what police are calling a grand larceny pattern targeting Brooklyn residents.

An NYPD spokesperson said that in February, a 45-year-old woman received a phone call from an unknown individual who claimed to be a representative of the "Amazon Fraud Department." The caller instructed the woman to withdraw $24,500 from her bank accounts to resolve fraudulent activity.

Following the caller's instructions, the victim withdrew $24,500 from her bank accounts and gave the money to a person in a vehicle outside 5716 Avenue U. Once the money was handed over, the unidentified individual, alone in the car, drove off with it, police said.

Less than a week later, a similar scam was reported, this time within the 70th Precinct, which covers Midwood, Fiske Terrace, Ditmas Park, and Prospect Park South. This time, a 51-year-old man reported getting a phone call from the same representative of the "Amazon Fraud Department," police said.

During the call, the scammer instructed the victim to withdraw $50,000 from his bank accounts to resolve fraudulent activity, which the man did. After withdrawing the money, he followed the caller's instructions and handed it over to a person in a vehicle near East 26th Street and Avenue N, police said.

Once again, the individual fled in a vehicle with the money.

There were no injuries in any of the incidents, and there have been no arrests, police said.

Police said it's unclear how many people are involved in the scam, but they have released photos of the car and the male driver.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).