SENIOR HOUSING SCAM
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By Garrison.phillips February 24, 2009, 1:16 pm |
My first impression proved, ultimately, to be correct - that it was too
good to be true. 'It' being a half page ad in the freebie newspaper,
Metro. The ad broadcast the wonderful news of an about-to-be-built
senior housing project on West 57th Street in Manhattan. Not only were
the studios and one-bedroom rentals below one thousand dollars a month,
but the cut-off on income levels were, for a change, well above the
usual figure of $26,000. I did question the fee of $5 in the form of a
money order to receive an application but I figured that Mr. Blomberg
lost along with the rest of us in the current financial crisis and the
city is in dire straights financially. So I hiked off to the Post
Office, bought my money order and mailed it to the listed post office
box.
Several days later I received a telephone call from a very well spoken gentleman who identified himself with his name and the information that he was a federal investigator. He asked me if I had mailed a letter to the particular p.o. box and when I answered in the affirmative he asked me the details of the mailing. I explained the ad, that I was a senior citizen, etc. and he thanked me and explained that there was an investigation of the high level of activity at this particular p.o.box. He then asked if he could open my letter and I said of course. He gave me his telephone number and said I would hear further from him and if not, to please give him a call in a few days.
That Sunday, out of curiosity, I walked over to West 57th Street and found that the listed address for the proposed housing project was the site of Steinway Hall! So much for the senior housing project! I waited until Tuesday and called the FBI. The kindly gentleman who took my call said they had no one by the name I gave them and asked for the name and telephone number or address for the agent who had called me. I gave him the information and he said he would get back to me. Fifteen minutes later my phone rang and it was the investigator who had called me the previous week. He said, "Mr. Phillips, I am not with the FBI, I am a federal U.S. Postal Services Investigator, a department which was originated by Benjamin Franklin in 1787." He said that the FBI had just contacted him regarding my telephone inquiry; he also informed me that an arrest had been made the previous day in the obvious scam for the senior housing project on West 57th Street. Later that night, the FBI called me back and said indeed the gentleman in question was an investigator for the U.S. Postal Service and that I should cooperate with him. They then thanked me for my trouble.
So - am I upset over the scam? Well, no, not at all. Actually, I am quite pleased to discover that the Federal Investigation Department of the U.S. Postal Service is so 'on the job' and that the FBI is so cooperative, well informed and thorough, not to mention their courtesy - all for a wise old owl like myself, who is always on the lookout for credit card theft and scams, but who had suckered to the bait like an innocent lamb. I am also grateful to Benjamin Franklin who set up the investigative system that protects seniors like me - not to mention his stove, the first library and the first fire department, among other things. So, let's hear it for Ben!
Several days later I received a telephone call from a very well spoken gentleman who identified himself with his name and the information that he was a federal investigator. He asked me if I had mailed a letter to the particular p.o. box and when I answered in the affirmative he asked me the details of the mailing. I explained the ad, that I was a senior citizen, etc. and he thanked me and explained that there was an investigation of the high level of activity at this particular p.o.box. He then asked if he could open my letter and I said of course. He gave me his telephone number and said I would hear further from him and if not, to please give him a call in a few days.
That Sunday, out of curiosity, I walked over to West 57th Street and found that the listed address for the proposed housing project was the site of Steinway Hall! So much for the senior housing project! I waited until Tuesday and called the FBI. The kindly gentleman who took my call said they had no one by the name I gave them and asked for the name and telephone number or address for the agent who had called me. I gave him the information and he said he would get back to me. Fifteen minutes later my phone rang and it was the investigator who had called me the previous week. He said, "Mr. Phillips, I am not with the FBI, I am a federal U.S. Postal Services Investigator, a department which was originated by Benjamin Franklin in 1787." He said that the FBI had just contacted him regarding my telephone inquiry; he also informed me that an arrest had been made the previous day in the obvious scam for the senior housing project on West 57th Street. Later that night, the FBI called me back and said indeed the gentleman in question was an investigator for the U.S. Postal Service and that I should cooperate with him. They then thanked me for my trouble.
So - am I upset over the scam? Well, no, not at all. Actually, I am quite pleased to discover that the Federal Investigation Department of the U.S. Postal Service is so 'on the job' and that the FBI is so cooperative, well informed and thorough, not to mention their courtesy - all for a wise old owl like myself, who is always on the lookout for credit card theft and scams, but who had suckered to the bait like an innocent lamb. I am also grateful to Benjamin Franklin who set up the investigative system that protects seniors like me - not to mention his stove, the first library and the first fire department, among other things. So, let's hear it for Ben!