Oswego County (WSYR-TV) -- A potential phone scam is circulating in Oswego County, according to a local hospice organization.
Dennis Goss recently got a call and was thanked for a donation to a hospice center and was asked to give more money, but something just wasn’t adding up.
“I said where is it? Where is it for? And they just said, again, ‘Your general area.’ And I said again, where? Syracuse? Oswego County? And it was very clear at that point, I knew exactly what was happening,” Goss told NewsChannel 9.
Goss used to be the president of “Friends of the Oswego County Hospice.” When he explained that on the phone the alleged scammer hung up. About a half an hour later, they called back and tried to rip off his wife.
"Something as to this mischievous or devious style workings... it's not just money coming out of an organization, it really is affecting those people that need it most in their community in a difficult time in their life," said Goss.
And while it can be difficult to know whether the person on the other line is trying to scam you, the Oswego County Hospice says it will never ask for money over the phone.
"It disgusts me that people can stoop this low, and use hospice as a way to scam people out of their money,” said Debbie Bishop. "My biggest fear is that someone gets a call who actually has a family member in the hospice program and they're ripped off somehow... it's disgusting."
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from hospice, don’t give out any information. If you’d like to donate, call Friends of Oswego Hospice at 343-5223 or visit their
website.
