Geneseo Police are warning about a telephone scam effort reported by someone who lives in the village.
That resident called Geneseo Police, which led ChiefEric Osganian to share information about a telephone scam that may be prevalent here.
"They'll call and they'll say that their grandson needs money...and the kid is sick...or some other made up story. We haven't had anybody play into it, but we're concerned that we're going to get more of these phone calls and reports, so we want to let people know."
Osganian told WXXI if one person was called, there are likely others. His advice: If someone asks you to wire money, it's probably not legit. He recommends you report any contact to the FTC and your local police.
"Especially wiring money. It's a red flag. Don't wire anybody any money. Government agencies won't ask you to wire money to them. Because, once you send the money, for us to try to get it back for you is almost impossible."
Callers come up with sad stories about family members, or claim that you owe the IRS.
"Well, one person asked about a grandson and the lady said - what's the grandson's name - this person hangs up. So she calls us and reports it, and there's probably more out there that are not getting reported."
Osganian figures we can all learn from this.
“If somebody calls and talks about your family members needing this or that, just double-check before you ever send anything to anybody."
The chief suggests you get what information you can from the caller and report the contact to the FTC or local police.
Contact: Federal Trade Commission: ftc.gov/complaint or 1-877-FTC-HELP