Nassau County, NY - December 24th, 2013 - County Executive Edward P. Mangano and Acting Police Commissioner Victor F. Politi are urging citizens to be vigilant when making purchases via social media websites such as Craigslist, Facebook and Ebay. The overwhelming majority of users are trustworthy and well-intentioned. With billions of human interactions facilitated, the incidence of violent crime is extremely low. Nevertheless, please take the same common sense precautions online as you would offline.
When meeting someone for the first time, please remember to:
- Insist on a public meeting place, preferably indoors with other people around.
- Do not meet late at night, or in a secluded place.
- NEVER invite strangers into your home.
- Be especially careful when buying/selling high value items.
- Tell a friend or family member where you're going.
- Consider having a friend accompany you.
- Trust your instincts.
Taking these simple precautions make transaction safer for everyone.
This information is being provided to residents to make them aware of these ongoing scams. If you believe you may have been a victim of any of these scams, please call 911 immediately.
Anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of individual(s) responsible are asked to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS (8477). All calls remain anonymous.