Members of the North Bergen Police Department recently conveyed their success in reducing the amount of “bunco” or “diversionary” scams that have occurred in the area. In some instances, scam artists will go door to door posing as roofers or individuals from utility companies. An individual may even dump water on the floor from a vial while the homeowner is turned away to help convince him or her of the leak.
While the homeowner spends time with the scam artist in the basement, other people will ransack the house.
According to the North Bergen Police website, the term “bunco” comes from the Spanish word “banco,” meaning bank. These scams include home repair frauds, burglaries, thefts, and more.
“Awareness and education is the key to preventing these types of scams.” – Captain Robert Dowd
____________
Typical scams
Captain Robert Dowd and Lt. Peter Fasilis of the North Bergen Police Department gave examples of common diversionary scams.
Besides the roofers offering free estimates, and utility companies, scams have involved faking an illness, posing as a town inspector, pretending to have a package to deliver, asking for pen and paper to leave a note for a neighbor, asking if the house is for sale, and looking for a lost dog or cat.
Once inside, members of a diversionary crew may go as far as holding up sheets or blankets to mask the entrance and hide accomplices.
The site also states that scam artists are typically very careful during ransacking, and homeowners may not realize that anything has been taken right after they are victimized.
Dowd also shared a typical scam involving female con artists.
“Women are traditionally involved in a “sweetheart swindle,”” said Dowd, “in which a young attractive female will make an acquaintance with an elderly gentleman in an attempt to basically embezzle money from him.”
Dowd said senior citizens in particular are at risk for such scams.
“Many senior citizens have lived through the Great Depression and are wary of banks,” said Dowd, adding that their increased tendency to keep valuables in the house often makes them a target for such diversionary burglaries.
Dowd and Fasilis shared prevention methods to decrease the likelihood of becoming a victim.
“Leave the person outside until you’ve verified with the company,” said Dowd. “Make a phone call. Or call the police if you’re unsure.”
Dowd also mentioned that residents should avoid putting their full names on mailboxes. Dowd said that in instances where a married couple has their full names on a mailbox, a scam artist could pretend to be acquainted with a spouse by using their first name.
“Next thing you know, they start up a conversation, and get their foot in the door,” said Dowd. “And once they’re in the home, they’re outside of the eye of the public and the police.”
A collaborative effort
Dowd and Fasilis said that perpetrators of the scams typically work together. Fasilis likened the crime unit to a “Cosa Nostra-type group,” or a crime family with a hierarchy.
“At a young age, adolescents are actually taught to pickpocket and to commit minor diversionary scams,” said Dowd. “As they get older, they get into different things.”
“It’s not an opportunistic crime; it’s organized,” said Fasilis. “They might recruit new players as younger generations come out, but as they recruit them we still know the upper hierarchy of the families.”
In fact, the upper hierarchy enables police to know more about the typical scam artists in the area.
“In organized crime, you always know the key players,” said Fasilis.
Dowd also stated that scam artists typically travel from state to state when they feel that they are in danger of being detected.
“We found through investigation that there had been some links between Philadelphia, Northern New Jersey, Florida, and Chicago,” said Dowd.
According to Dowd and Fasilis, the amount of diversionary scams has dropped significantly over the past ten years due to collaboration efforts between police departments.
“We started actually talking on the phone and sharing information,” said Dowd. “It’s really been a key factor to us in attempting to combat this.”
“We share the information with the public, too,” said Fasilis. “The more informed law enforcement is, and the more informed the public is, the better we are at preventing these types of crimes.”
Visit northbergenpolice.com for more information.
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.