From the Cohoes Police Department:
Important Spring Time Safety Reminder from the Cohoes
Police Department:
The Cohoes Police would like to warn citizens that with
the coming of spring, communities tend to experience two common types of scams;
gypsies hit the area and black top scam artists. Traditionally, the
targets are upper middle class residential areas that have a larger population
of elderly residents. More often than not, the con artist will target
females.
Gypsy Scam: The typical gypsy scam
involves two females with a male driver in close proximity to the
females. Gypsies will hang around banks or businesses, as well as
following meals on wheels deliveries, looking for an easy target. Gypsies
will follow targets home. Once a victim is selected, the gypsies will use
one of the following ruses to get inside a house-feigning illness, asking for a
drink of water, pretending to have a package to deliver to a neighbor, asking
for paper to leave a note for a neighbor, asking if the house is for sale,
selling flowers or candy, or looking for a lost cat or dog, etc. Once a
homeowner is engaged in conversation and has been successfully distracted, the
other female enters the house looking for currency, jewelry, or other
valuables. They are careful not to disturb anything so that many times
the victim does not even know that anything has been taken. If the
gypsies get into your home, get out right away and go to a neighbor for help
and call 911.
Blacktop Scam: One of the most common
scams in our area every year is the black topping of driveways. The
common approach is a black topper going door to door and telling people that
they have extra black top left over and will black top the homeowner’s driveway
for a good price using substandard materials. Once the job has been
completed, the scam artist will come up with different reasons for increasing
the price. For example: the original price did not include labor or they
had to use more material than what was anticipated, etc. Typically, there
is an agreement that the black topper will seal the driveway too, but in fact,
only applies another light coat of the same material used to do the initial
job. It is best not to have work done immediately. Get the business
name and phone number, and a written estimate. Then, contact the Better
Business Bureau for references or complaints regarding the blacktop business.
Anyone going door to door must have a valid vendor license
issued by the City Clerk. Citizens are urged to call the City Clerk or
the Police Department to verify the license is valid.
If you feel you have been approached by, or a victim of a
scam, call the Cohoes Police Department, 237-5333. Note any physical
descriptions of individuals, uncommon speech patterns, clothing, content of
conversation, direction of travel when they leave. If operating a
vehicle, a description of the vehicle, color, make, model, plate #, etc.
Citizens should never open their door to anyone claiming
to be selling a product or looking for directions. DO NOT OPEN your door
to anyone you do not know. The citizen should always, immediately contact
their Police Department to make them aware of any situations like this. The City of Cohoes also maintains a list of
residents that do not want solicitors or vendors to come to their homes. To have your address added to this list call
the City Clerk at 233-2140. To stop solicitors
and vendors from entering your property you can also post a sign on your
property stating “Solicitors/Vendors
Prohibited” “Do Not Enter.” We
recommend that you have your name on the City Clerk’s list and to post signage
on your property. Any solicitor or
vendor that violates either is subject to arrest and police should be called
immediately.
With the nice weather approaching, citizens should be
cognizant of some basic security for their home and vehicles. Always
leave your doors locked, even if going on short trips to the store or working
in the yard. Always lock your vehicle, even if it is in your
driveway. If you have a tool or garden shed, any unattached garage on
your property with valuables, it should be locked when not in use.
Surveillance camera prices are now very affordable and it
aids the police if a crime does occur on ones property. The video
certainly will aid the apprehension of the subjects and furthermore it is a
deterrent to many criminals.
Burglars, thieves generally look for the easiest targets
and with the simple security tips, they usually move on to places and
properties that are less secure.
The City of Cohoes Police Department has a Crime and
Drug Tip Hotline. All calls are confidential and messages can be left
anonymously. The number is 233-2161. This line is not monitored
especially nights and weekends so emergency calls should be made directly to 911 immediately.
All Vendors MUST HAVE A VALID VENDORS PERMIT
issued by the Cohoes City Clerk. If they
do not everyone is urged to call 911 to report it immediately.
