QUEENS — Grand larcenies are up in Forest Hills and Rego Park, thanks largely to a spike in identity thefts, property stolen when left unattended and various phone scams, police officials said.
The number of grand larcenies in the 112th Precinct jumped 67 percent, with 30 incidents in the last 28 days compared to 18 during the same period last year, according to statistics provided by the NYPD at a monthly precinct community council meeting Wednesday.
Overall crime in the precinct went down nearly 5 percent during the same time period.
Capt. Robert Ramos, the precinct's commanding officer, warned locals to be on the look out for phone scams, citing an incident on Nov. 8 in which a 31-year-old Forest Hills resident received a phone call from a suspect who introduced himself as Agent Andrew Smith from the U.S. Marshals Service.
The caller told the victim that his social security number and other personal information had been stolen and were used to rent a car and a property as well as to launder money outside of the country. The suspect then told him to withdraw his money out of his accounts and place them into a federal holding account where his savings will be secure.
Following the instructions he received from the caller, the victim transferred his money — $47,000 — into another account.
Two days later, when the victim realized that it was a scam, he reported it to the police, Ramos said.
► READ MORE: Your Guide to Avoiding Common Scams in the City
“These people are very convincing, they are working the phones and they are very good at what they do,” Ramos said.
“Just hang up on them,” he said, adding that scammers often target seniors.
Scammers also often pretend to call from the IRS or they claim that victims' family members or friends have been kidnapped or are in trouble, officials said.
Local police officials also warned residents to never give their personal information, like social security number, date of birth or credit card number, over the phone, unless they initiated the call. They also advised them to never leave receipts at an ATM or at a gas pump and to sign all new credit cards upon receiving them in the mail.
The precinct also distributed fliers with tips how to avoid identity theft.
