May 7th, 2019 – Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter and the Suffolk County Police Department are alerting the public to a phone scam targeting residents in the hamlet of Islip. Police officials are reporting that there has been an influx of complaints today from residents who have received calls from a telephone number that appears to be with the Social Security Administration (SSA) or a federal law enforcement agency.
The caller asserts that there has been an issue with the potential victim’s social security number, that fraudulent accounts have been opened under the potential victim’s name, and that it is urgent that this “gets cleared up.”
According to police, the caller then states that they have been working with local law enforcement officials to investigate the issue, and they should expect another call from a representative of their local police department. Shortly thereafter, the potential victim does receive another spoofed call which appears to come from a local precinct’s telephone number. In this second call, the scammer requests personal information and also requests that money be sent. Police officials say that spoofing software helps scammers mask calls to appear as if they were coming from legitimate sources.
These calls are fraudulent and are attempts to steal your personal information and money, according to police, adding that officials will never ask the general public for money nor ask for personal information such as social security numbers or credit card information.
“I urge residents to share this very important alert with friends and loved ones, not only in Islip, but across Long Island, and advise residents not to provide any personal information or credit card numbers over the telephone, by email or any other means,” said Supervisor Carpenter. “If you have any doubt concerning the identity of someone representing themselves as a police officer, please call your local police precinct immediately,” said the Supervisor.
For tips on how to protect yourself from scam attempts in Suffolk County, please visit the Suffolk County Police Department’s Scam Alert page at: www.suffolkpd.org/home/scamalerts.aspx