Dave Gordon
You think you’re too savvy to be scammed. We all do. But the unsettling truth is that modern fraudsters have elevated deception to an art form, weaving themselves into our daily routines and exploiting the people, institutions, and events we trust the most. In neighborhoods from Brooklyn to Lakewood, Monsey to Passaic, scams are no longer rare cautionary tales – they’re a weekly threat, circulating through WhatsApp groups, whispered in synagogue foyers, and cropping up in local newspaper headlines.
It starts small. An email from your rabbi. A call from your grandchild. A pop‑up on your computer. Each one feels just plausible enough, just urgent enough, to push you past skepticism. And then – in minutes – your savings, your peace of mind, and your trust are gone.
Here are real stories of fraud in our communities, reported by reputable media outlets, tied to exact dates and places. Together, they create a portrait of a crime wave hiding in plain sight.
The Brooklyn Computer Con
Recently, CBS News New York ran an exclusive story by investigator Mahsa Saeidi about a 75‑year‑old woman from Brooklyn who lost $100,000 in a deception that began with a locked computer screen. A pop‑up message told her to call a number. On the line, a voice claiming to be from Microsoft warned that her bank accounts had been compromised. The man guided her step by step – first to the bank to withdraw her funds “for safe keeping,” then to an in-person rendezvous. He gave her a secret code word – “red” – before sending a fake courier to collect the envelope. By the time she realized that she had been coached into surrendering money, the cash was gone.
Police say this hybrid scam – part tech support hoax, part old‑fashioned face‑to‑face con – is targeting older residents in Brooklyn who live alone. Its sophistication lies in how it turns modern technology’s veneer of authority into a weapon.
Social Security Scams in New Jersey
Government impersonation scams might sound like a distant problem, but a high‑profile case in New Jersey made headlines on April 24, 2025, when the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that 68‑year‑old Deborah Bailey of Piscataway had pleaded guilty to stealing $150,903 in Social Security benefits. For eight years after her mother’s death, Bailey quietly continued to withdraw her late mother’s retirement checks. While that case involved a relative exploiting a loophole, the prosecution noted that fake “Social Security” calls are proliferating statewide – with con artists posing as federal agents who claim your Social Security number has been “frozen” and threaten arrest unless you transfer money immediately. Officials stress that legitimate agencies never ask for payment by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency, yet these methods appear in nearly every successful scam they investigate.
The Deepfaked Grandchild Emergency
The classic “grandchild in trouble” scam took on a sinister technological twist in March 2025, as NPRreported from the Upper West Side of Manhattan and Passaic, New Jersey. Senior citizens began receiving not only panicked phone calls but also what appeared to be FaceTime videos from their own grandchildren – begging for bail money after supposed car accidents or arrests. In one documented case, a retired couple wired thousands of dollars to an account provided by the caller, believing it was to secure their grandson’s release in Vermont. Only hours later did they discover he had been at home all along. Investigators believe Montreal‑based criminal groups are behind the wave, using stolen personal data and AI‑generated voice and video “deepfakes” to trick even the most cautious targets.
Fake Charity Appeals in Boro Park and Lakewood
When tragedy strikes – a fatal fire before Shabbat, a family caught in an anti-Semitic attack, or a sudden medical emergency – Jewish communities act quickly. Scammers know this. Media outlets from Hamodiato The Jewish Presshave covered how, during such crises, residents of Boro Park in Brooklyn and the yeshiva community of Lakewood, New Jersey, are bombarded with WhatsApp messages and phone calls from “fundraisers” claiming to represent respected charities. Messages often include blurred photos, real names from local news reports, and fabricated payment links redirecting donations to private accounts. In some cases, community members have emptied their savings on the assumption they were aiding neighbors, only to find that the “emergency fund” never existed. Misaskim, the respected crisis‑response group, has issued repeated public alerts warning donors to slow down and verify before giving.
The Rabbi Gift Card Scam
One of the fastest‑growing frauds doesn’t come out of a high‑tech lab, but it’s brutally effective. Last September, the Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert after multiple synagogues in the New York area reported emails and texts from scammers posing as rabbis or synagogue presidents. The messages used familiar greetings and urgent tones – “I’m at a meeting and need a favor” – and asked congregants to buy gift cards for “families in crisis” or “a shul project.” Recipients were told to scratch off the security strip, photograph the numbers, and send them back via text or email. Once the numbers are sent, the value is drained within minutes, leaving no recourse for the victim. The FTC emphasized that no genuine rabbi or community leader will ever make such a request.
Final Thoughts
Trust is a cornerstone of Jewish communal life. But trust without verification is exactly what scammers need to succeed. The cases from Brooklyn, Lakewood, Passaic, Monsey, and beyond – each documented by reputable news outlets or government agencies – remind us that fraud is both hyper‑local and globally connected. Whether it’s a stranger on the phone using your grandson’s voice or a longtime neighborhood business adding a “holiday surcharge,” scams today are designed to slip past your defenses.
The simplest, hardest lesson is to pause before you act. Make that extra call, search that name, confirm that email. In the war between caution and con artists, hesitation isn’t weakness – it’s strength. In our communities, a moment’s doubt can be the only thing standing between you and the next devastating loss.
Scam Tactics
These cases show common threads in modern fraud:
- They Impersonate Trusted Figures: a rabbi, a tech support representative, even a family member.
- They Manipulate Urgency: making you believe that hesitation will cause harm or loss.
- They exploit community knowledge: citing real local news, synagogue events, or religious obligations.
- They Adjust Tactics to Technology: using spoofed numbers, AI‑generated videos, or hacked email accounts.
What makes them especially dangerous in Jewish neighborhoods across NY and NJ is the deep‑rooted culture of trust and fast action in emergencies – the very qualities scammers weaponize.
Guarding Against the Next Con
FBI agents, state attorneys general, and local police departments give the same advice:
Verify Independently – Call known official numbers, not the ones provided in a message.
Slow Down – No legitimate cause will collapse for lack of a same‑day transfer.
Refuse Unusual Payment Methods – Gift cards, crypto, or wire transfers are almost always red flags.
Educate the Vulnerable – Hold scam‑awareness sessions in shuls, schools, and senior centers. Communities should also normalize healthy skepticism. In the United States, the FBI estimates that elders lose over $3 billion each year to these schemes. That’s a number that can only grow if people keep treating suspicious requests as impolite to question.