NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- New York officials say a shipping scam targeting Hispanic immigrants sending Christmas presents to families back home steals their money -- and the presents.
Instead of delivering the items, scam artists take the presents, and the money paid for "shipping charges," and disappear, the New York Daily News reported Monday.
"It's a terrible scam that's been happening for years," state Sen. Jose Peralta, who represents several Queens neighborhoods hit by shipping crooks, says.
"You pay the fees, and your items never get there," he says.
Queens resident Edison Santos, 28, tried to send boxes of clothes and canned food to family members in the Dominican Republic last Christmas.
Between shipping costs charged by a company in the Corona neighborhood of Queens and the price of the presents, he said he spent about $3,000.
The presents never arrived, he said.
"We tried everything. We complained to 311, the city. We'd be happy to get half the money back," he said. "Our family there needs the food and clothes we send them.
"You are taking food out of their mouths," he said.
Peralta says he wants legislation that would require shipping companies to register with the state so customers can check which businesses are legitimate.
