South San Francisco, CA September 23, 2020 Submitted by SSFPD
In recent days the South San Francisco Police Department has conducted investigations into reported “scams” where the victims were defrauded of more than a combined total of $65,000.00 dollars.
In one case, the victim was working on their computer when it “froze” for no apparent reason. A window “popped up” saying they may have been the victim of a recent fraud and they were prompted to call a number. The victim called the number and spoke to an unknown suspect who was posing as a representative, who convinced them to purchase gift cards to settle an outstanding balance. The victim purchased the gift cards at a local store, returned home, and provided the suspect with the card numbers and PIN numbers to all of the gift cards.
In another case, the victim received a phone call from a male suspect who asked the victim to send money to his organization under the pretense of helping to keep the victim’s grandchild out of an out-of-state jail. The victim ultimately made four separate withdrawals, totaling a large sum of money, and sent it according to the suspect’s directions.
These are just a couple examples of the many “scams” that are being acted upon. We remind our community members to NEVER send large sums of money to anyone or anywhere without prior confirmation. Legitimate operations will NEVER ask for large sums of money via wire transfers, gift cards, or any other suspicious type of transaction
When in doubt, STOP, and call your local police department to seek guidance and assistance. DON’T BECOME A VICTIM!..SSFPD main line 650-877-8900.
maybe the SSFPD should create and
msil out stickerd that read “don’t send
money to anyone” period, and give to
every household