NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Thieves masquerading as basketball fundraisers in Central Park tried to steal money from a woman via the Zelle app on her phone, police said Thursday as they warned it’s part of an ongoing scam citywide that a former Miss New York fell victim to.
The NYPD released images Thursday of four suspects they're after in the would-be theft inside the park on Tuesday afternoon.
According to police, a 23-year-old woman was approached near West 101st Street and West Drive by four young males who asked for money for a basketball fundraiser.
But it was all a ruse, police said, and when she handed her phone to one of them, he attempted to transfer an undetermined amount of cash from her account to his account via the Zelle digital payment system.
The victim managed to get her phone back, and the suspects fled on foot, police said. No injuries were reported.
Several similar incidents have been reported in Central Park in recent days, though it appears police have only linked the suspects in the photos to Tuesday’s incident. The NYPD was out in the park Wednesday to warn people against handing their phone to anyone to pay strangers via services like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, and Apple Pay.
Indeed, the scheme has been reported all over the city. Just last Friday, Briana Siaca, a real estate agent and Miss New York 2021, fell victim in Madison Square Park.
“These two boys came over to me and they were fundraising for their basketball team, they allegedly play in the South Bronx and they can’t afford their uniforms,” Siaca recounted on TikTok.
Siaca said she agreed to give them money via Zelle, but when she opened her app and requested their info, one of the boys told her he’d add it for her. As she was talking with the second boy, the one with her phone “was taking a long time, so I kind of grabbed it from him.”
“I looked at my Zelle account, and they sent themselves $2,000,” she said, adding that her bank said there wasn’t much they could do “but they’re still trying to work it out.”
Siaca warned others to be on alert. “These kids have been scamming people all around the city—like New York City parks, Barclays Center, they’re out and about.”
“I’m shocked, it feels kind of like a scary dream, because these boys were so seemingly sweet and innocent and really charming, and I thought it was really brave they were going around raising money for their team,” she said. “Just be super careful out there.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.