Full Notification

The Town of Poughkeepsie Police Dept. would like to advise residents and business owners of several types of fraudulent phone scams being reported in the Town. The first scam is a caller representing themselves with Central Hudson or a similar energy provider. The caller advises the resident/business owner that their bill is overdue and demands payment to avoid their service from being shut off. Residents are advised to use caution when making payments over the phone. If you have a concern about your bill, contact Central Hudson directly by utilizing the phone number on the bill.
Other ongoing scams that request money be transferred include:
-a call informing residents they won a lottery
-a relative is in jail or is injured
- identifying themselves as a representative with the Internal Revenue Service about owed back taxes.
To protect yourself, never wire money to anyone without verifying their identity, don’t rely on the caller’s voice, tell the caller to give you the contact information relating to the incident so you can verify the information is accurate and speak to your family members to find out if someone is actually in need of help.
To learn more about these scams and other ways to protect you from becoming a victim, go to www.townpolice.net. Then click on “Specialized Units”, “Community Policing” and “Smart Seniors”. If you receive a similar call in the Town, you can contact the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department to report the incident at 845-485-3666.