Phone Scammers Attempt to Hit Three Village Residents

Telephone callers who fit the description of recent widespread phone scams attempted to lure at least three residents in the Three Village area last week.

Residents of Shore Oaks Road in Stony Brook and Herd Lane in East Setauket, along with one other caller with a local address, reported on March 26, March 27 and March 28 that they received phone calls claiming that a family member was in danger.

In each case, the call came from a blocked number, and the male caller attempted to convince the person who answered the phone to wire money to a location in Puerto Rico.

Suffolk police recently issued a statement warning people of the scam. Police said approximately 70 reports of similar telephone calls have been reported over the past five months, and believe that dozens more have not been reported. Police said the victims are randomly selected and the caller in many cases is able to convince residents the scenario is real.