NEW YORK CITY — The NYPD is constantly reminding New Yorkers not to fall for scammers trying every trick to get them to fork over their cash.
From demanding people put money on debit cards to pay off IRS debts to inventing bogus crises like a relative in prison or a curse on the victim's family, the scammers mostly prey on the vulnerable who are the least prepared to suspect them, according to officials.
To keep you and those close to you savvy to the latest scam attempts, DNAinfo New York has created a guide to the most common tricks that the NYPD is warning New Yorkers about:
► Rental Scam
In this scam — also known as a "key" scam — suspects target people hoping to find an apartment by posing as a real estate agent or broker and demanding thousands of dollars for a security deposit on an apartment that either doesn't exist, or one that they don't have authority to rent.
Police recommend never handing over any money until you see the apartment, and to make sure your "broker" is actually certified.
"It is better to pay a broker fee than to lose your hard earned money to one of these scams," 110th Precinct NYPD Community Affairs Officer David Saponieri said.
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► IRS Scam
Your phone rings. The voice on the other line claims to be an official from the IRS — saying that you owe big bucks to the government. They threaten you with massive civil penalties — or worse — unless you resolve the issue as fast as possible you need to either turn over money orders or gift cards in the thousands of dollars.
This, police said, is how some people get tricked out of handing over thousands of dollars to strangers, sometimes more than once. The NYPD reassured New Yorkers that the IRS will never contact you over the phone — or require payment in either iTunes, American Express of GreenDot MoneyPak cards — if you do owe them money.
► 'Your Loved One is in Trouble' Scam
In this scam, victims receive phone calls about family members or friends who have been kidnapped or are in trouble. The scammers demand money in the form of gift cards or other debit cards, according to the NYPD.
"If you get a phone call that your cousin, brothers, sister, mother, uncle is kidnapped in Ecuador, please just come to us, call 911, let us know," the 115th Precinct's Inspector Michele Irizzary said at a recent precinct community council meeting.
"Please do not send money, because I can assure you in all likelihood, nobody in your family is kidnapped."
► "Blessings" or "Curse Lifting" Scam
This scam, which has struck across the city, targets primarily immigrant women using seemingly kindly suspects who warn them of a curse on their family or an offer of blessings or good fortune.
The scam typically begins when the suspects approach the victim on the street or other public place and say that they know the victim or victim's family is cursed, and the only way to lift it is by gathering up all of their money or jewelry or other valuables and turning it over to the suspects to be "blessed." When the handoff happens, the suspects replace the items in the bag with bottles or other heavy items and warn the victim not to look inside for a day or so or risk inviting back the curse. Once the victims open the bag, they discover their valuables have been replaced by worthless junk.
In other versions of the scam, suspects will approach victims on the street and put a bracelet on their wrist and say, 'oh, you need a blessing,'" police said. The suspects demand payment of hundreds of dollars for the blessing, police say.
READ MORE: 4 Suspects Arrested in Connection to Curse-Lifting Scams, Police Say
► Lotto Scams
In this scam, victims receive letters from people claiming they've won millions, but adding that they can only redeem their money by sending the suspects a check for thousands of dollars.
"If you won the lotto, you won the lotto," the NYPD's Irizzary said. "You don't have to pay to get that money, other than what you paid for that scratch off ticket."
