The NYPD has warned about the latest scam in New York City. The scammers are taking advantage of victims' generosity, stealing tens of thousands of dollars from kind-hearted targets and netting over $76,000 last year in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
The scammers ask passersby for donations to a worthy cause and ask the victim to donate using a payment app like Venmo or Zelle. They then claim that they didn't receive the donation and have the victim hand over the phone to fix it. Instead, the scammers use the app to send themselves large sums of money from the victim's account.
Late last year, the department collected details on a series of such scams. In a period from Jan. 11 to Nov. 19, it said, the NYPD took reports of 39 incidents where scammers approached victims and stole anywhere from $928 to $3,500. The victims ranged between the ages of 19 and 39 — with 35 of them being women.
It should go without saying, but never hand your phone to a stranger, especially when using an app connected to your bank account.
Previously: Scammers are putting fake QR codes on parking meters in California
