’Tis the Season to Be Wary

With the approach of the new year, telephone scammers claiming to be agents of the Internal Revnue Service have been out in force all over the nation, and the East End has been no exception.

Edward Kominski of Sammy’s Beach Road, East Hampton, who celebrated his 82nd birthday last week, told police last Thursday that a female caller, claiming to be an agent of the Internal Revenue Service, told him he owed over $5,000 in back taxes. If he did not make an immediate bank transfer of $4,900 into an account she would provide, she said, he would be arrested.

He complied. Now he was told that he needed to send another $750 via Western Union, or agents would be sent to his residence and put him in handcuffs. He again complied, before suspecting a scam. He called his bank and asked that the money transfer be canceled, but it was unclear, according to the police report, whether that could be done.

At least two Springs residents received similar calls. A Harbor View Drive man, Richard King, told police he had received a call Dec. 15 from a man claiming to be an I.R.S. agent. Mr. King immediately recognized the call as an attempt to defraud him, so he hung up, then called police.

The telephone grifters also struck out when they called Nina Schafer of Norfolk Drive the same day. She was told she owed $3,000 in back taxes from 2014, which, if not paid immediately, would result in her arrest that day. When she replied that she had not worked in 2014, the caller said the year in question was actually 2009. Ms. Schafer hung up and called police.

An Accabonac Road man received a call from a “Mr. Smith,” claiming to be a representative of Microsoft, on Dec. 14. Mr. Smith told John Goodman that his computer had been hacked and asked to be allowed to access it remotely. Mr. Goodman, who has an online business, allowed him to do so, whereupon the caller requested payment by credit card for the service. When Mr. Goodman offered an American Express card number, he was told that he should instead provide the routing number to his bank account. This he refused to do, so Mr. Smith suggested he go to CVS and send a money order. Now realizing he was being scammed, Mr. Goodman called police, and his financial institution as well. He told police he would have his computer checked to make sure it wasn’t damaged.

A Kopka Court, East Hampton woman was taken in for a while before realizing that she was being had. She told police on Dec. 15 that three days earlier, she had received a phone call from a man. The caller managed to get AnneMarie Brown’s date of birth, Social Security number, and ZIP code. When he kept pushing for more information, Ms. Brown refused.

Police advised her to monitor all her accounts and contact them immediately if there was any suspicious activity.