New York, NY – A bogus website claiming to be the home where patrons of the MTA can claim items left behind on city trains, buses and subways is currently charging New York riders $48.95 to file a claim to get their possessions back.
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NYPOST.com (http://bit.ly/1mMWPUG) reports that while the mastermind behind the scam remains a mystery, sources say the scammer has apparently paid Google enough to ensure that the phony site pops up first in an Internet searches for MTA lost and found.
55 year-old Dave Smith from Westport said he was told by reps at Grand Central Station that he first had to file an online claim in order to retrieve his 3-D printed fantasy football helmet he recently left on the train.
Smith said a Google search for “Metro-North” and “lost and found” immediately placed him in the fraudulent site.
“I thought it was unbelievable that Metro-North is charging me $50,” Smith said. “I was pretty upset about the whole thing. I thought it was a Metro-North site. I thought their new policy was you have to pay 50 bucks. It’s a scam.”