Police Warn About Fake Checks & Other Scams

by Judy Silberstein

(March 20, 2008) In the face of two recent incidents, Larchmont police are warning residents to be on the alert for con artists on the street or in the mail (or email). “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” said Larchmont Police Chief Steve Rubeo repeating the oft-heard and oft-ignored advice in his report to the Village Board on Tuesday, March 18.

The chief opened his discussion by announcing he had just won $100,000 and displaying what appeared to be an authentically negotiable bank check he had received in the mail. “All he had to do” to get the money, was to call “the bank” and provide information required for payment of taxes – information like a Social Security number, bank account identification, etc. Of course, had he placed the call to the bogus telephone, the scammers would have had all the identification they needed to access his bank account and clean him out.

This is an old scam, said the chief, but it’s gotten more sophisticated with the advent of better computer graphics that allow cons to dupe their prey with checks that look just like the real ones. The fake check came in a hand-addressed envelope from Canada, out of reach of US authorities. The chief figures if the “bad guys are dumb enough” to send a letter to him, they are probably blanketing the community with checks.

Related scams described online allow the “dupe” to deposit a real check and quickly remove cash from his account to hand over or mail to the cons for what they claim will be payment of taxes, a show of good faith or other purpose that may sound legitimate at the time.

A security photo shows a woman who police believe is a con artist accompanying the victim of a scam on his way to withdraw $10,000.

Last month, an elderly Larchmont resident was the victim of a “pigeon drop flim flam” involving two actors, identified by the police as a 40-year-old, light-skinned man around 5’7” in his 40s and a dark-skinned black woman wearing glasses around 5’5’ in her 50s. As the victim was walking down a Larchmont street, he was approached by the man, who “found” a packet of money on the sidewalk. They were joined by the woman. The man pretended to call Larchmont Judge Jerry Bernstein, who “advised” that the cash could be split between the victim and the woman. But “to officially record the transaction,” the victim would need to provide identification and $10,000. The victim got a ride with to the Chase Bank, where he withdrew $10,000 to give to the man.

Police are searching for the two con artists and warning citizens and other police departments to be on the lookout for similar occurrences.

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