Scam Alert! New York State Police Are Warning You About the Latest Scam

What is a hustle, a swindle, con of sting? All of these are just different words for a scam - "A fraudulent or deceptive act or operation". - Merriam Webster Dictionary. Nobody likes to be scammed.

New York State Police are warning the public of the latest scam making it's way around the Empire State. This new sophisticated crime involves stolen identity and the sale of your property without you even knowing.

New York State Troopers created a Facebook post alerting the public of a complicated scam. Imagine someone attempting to sell your home, or any piece of property of yours, without you realizing it. Here's what happened recently in Otsego County.

New York State Police Troop C in Oneonta were investigating a case of stolen identity. What troopers discovered was the suspect allegedly stole the identity of a property owner, forged a New Jersey drivers license and attempted to sell the victim's property.

The suspect in this case allegedly contacted a local real estate agent and attempted to sell this property, that did not belong to him. The way this individual was caught was because there were multiple owners on the deed, not just the one whos identity was stolen.

The multiple names on the property deed raised some red flags and the deal was stalled. The New York realtor became suspicious, did their homework and revealed the actual owner had no idea their property was attempting to be sold. In this case no sale was made and no money was lost.