Bay Ridge district manager warns of scams

Crooks pose as IRS agents, utility workers to steal money

March 24, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Josephine Beckmann says residents should be aware of the different types of scams out there. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas

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Josephine Beckmann said she has heard of numerous incidents in which senior citizens have been conned out of their money by clever scam artists who use a variety of ways to steal cash from unsuspecting victims.

But knowledge is power, and Beckmann, who is the district manager of Community Board 10 (Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights), is trying to warn people to be aware.

At the board’s March 21 meeting, she urged members to learn about the various types of scams out there and help spread the word in the community about the crimes so that senior citizens can protect themselves.

“I am asking you all to continue to spread the word about senior scams we hear about every day,” Beckman told members at the board meeting at the Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center at 1250 67th St.

Beckmann, who spoke about the scams during her monthly district manager’s report, also noted that many community board members are leaders of neighborhood civic organizations and have a bull horn to spread information to their groups.

She outlined the latest scams to hit local senior citizens:

1. People posing as representatives of energy companies who aggressively try to sell a senior citizen a new energy program. “Once you answer the door, it’s such a hard sell. It’s very difficult to get rid of person even when you tell them you are not interested,” Beckmann said.

2. Con artists posing as IRS agents who call an older person demanding immediate payment of outstanding taxes owed.

3. Crooks impersonating Social Security officials telling victims that they can no longer direct deposit their Social Security checks. The scammers usually seek bank account information from the victim.

4. Emails asking a senior citizen to verify bank information.

“They are all scams. We hear of so many people who have been victimized,” Beckmann said.

Beckmann told the Brooklyn Eagle on Wednesday that her office has received numerous calls in recent months from senior citizens who have not been victimized but who are concerned about the scams.

“We have received many calls from seniors stating that they have received the calls and know they are scams,” Beckman told the Eagle. “One woman who called the office said she had a friend who was a victim.”

As a result of the scams, many seniors are afraid to open their doors to legitimate utility workers, according to Beckmann.

“We have had several residents ask us to verify calls and letters to homes within CB10 stating they require home access from National Grid or Con Edison and we have worked with the utilities to verify employees on behalf of seniors who are afraid because of all of the news reports,” she said.

In other news from the board meeting, Beckmann said she was one of the witnesses testifying at a recent City Council hearing on hookah lounges. The council is considering legislation sponsored by Councilmember Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-parts of Bensonhurst) that would include non-tobacco herbal shisha smoke under the guidelines of the landmark 2002 Smoke Free Air Act.

Hookahs are water pipes that are used to smoke flavored, non-tobacco material called shisha, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Hookah smoking is typically practiced in groups with the same pipe passed from person to person.

Gentile’s bill also seeks to ban all new hookah lounges. But existing hookah bars that earn 50 percent or more of their total revenue from hookah sales would have the opportunity to be grandfathered in. These establishments would have to register with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The issue is important in Bay Ridge, a neighborhood that has seen numerous hookah lounges pop up in recent years, Beckman said.

Young people who believe the non-tobacco shisha smoke is harmless are sadly mistaken, she said, citing health studies which found the smoke to be dangerous to the lungs.

“I attended the hearing and listened to testimony from health officials on studies that have concluded the tremendous health effects of hookah and air quality studies both inside hookah lounges and worsening in adjacent living and/or work spaces,” Beckmann told the community board.

The CDC also warned of the dangers. “Similar to cigarettes, hookah smoking delivers the addictive drug nicotine and it is at least as toxic as cigarette smoking. While many hookah smokers may consider this practice less harmful than smoking cigarettes, hookah smoking carries many of the same health risks as cigarettes,” a statement on the CDC website reads.

“In my testimony to the NYC Council, I highlighted CB 10’s advocacy for consistent age restrictions like that of tobacco products which set the purchasing age at 21 years of age,” Beckmann said.