On 5/10/2014, a citizen of South San Francisco resident/victim reported an attempted Craigslist scam. The victim responded to a Craigslist advertisement asking for female models needed in a local photo shoot in San Francisco. The unknown suspect sent the victim a check for $1,950.00 as an initial payment for the photo shoot. The suspect in return asked for the victim to deposit the check into their personal bank account, then send a portion of the money back to the suspect to pay for transportation, equipment and various make-up artists. The victim sent the suspect money via MoneyGram and later discovered that there was no photo shoot ever booked. It was later confirmed that the check sent to the victim was fraudulent. The suspect claimed to be in Texas which was where the money was sent to.
If you solicit services or respond to a Craigslist ad, please do not accept any checks or send money via money order in advance of services. Obtain as much information as you can and report the incident to the police as well as the Craigslist Fraud Unit. Do not give out your address, banking information, social security number or any other personal information. The non emergency line to The South San Francisco Police Department is 650-877-8900.