Cable Caper

By Jerry Danzig

A 64-year-old man living on East 96th Street said that on Saturday, June 15, an unknown person posing as an agent of his cable company called and offered him a reduction in his bill if he paid for the entire year in advance. Following the alleged agent's instructions, the cable customer then went to a drug store on Lexington Avenue and bought two $500 money cards and a $50 money card. Next, he called the agent and gave him the codes and/or card numbers so the agent could pick up the money. The cable customer later found it was a scam, and he was out $1,050. The customer said he thought it might be an inside job, because the agent knew the amount he had last paid and the amount he owed on his bill. He further stated that the agent had even told him to put his cable box on the menu setting, and the agent manipulated the box from his end and scanned his card.