Riverside Sheriff warns, ‘Don’t be scammed’

The Riverside Sheriff’s Office recently provided these reminders.

The holidays are approaching and we would like to remind the public of phone/fraud scams. Please be vigilant and always question unsolicited telephone calls from deceptive businesses, banking institutions, foreign countries, or government agencies where monetary promises or threats are implied or made directly.

[pullquote]The holidays are approaching and we would like to remind the public of phone/fraud scams. [/pullquote]Numerous fraud schemes involving mortgage assistance, outstanding tax collection, foreign government assistance, and even to companies promising to return money lost are impacting citizens throughout the county. These scammers almost always request money to be paid up front for illegitimate services, or the threat of arrest, eviction or property seizure is made.

A notable and common scheme involves the caller who claims to be a member of law enforcement, or an employee of the the court system. The victim is told he or she has a warrant for failing to appear for jury duty.

The caller demands payment for the warrant via credit card information or a Green Dot card. The suspect typically remains on the phone with the victim while he or she travels to the store to obtain the Green Dot card. The suspect further instructs the victim not to tell anyone who they are talking with. After obtaining the serial numbers to the Green Dot cards, the money deposited to the card is immediately removed by the suspect.

No Riverside County Court or Sheriff’s Department employee will ever contact the public and ask for financial information or payment in lieu of attending court proceedings, or to make up for failure to appear for jury duty.

In another scheme, the caller claims to be from a utility or a service provider-type company. The victim is told their bill is overdue, or a meter needs to be replaced at the victim’s expense.

The caller demands immediate payment for the overdue bill, or installation of a new meter. If payment is not received, the victim’s service will be shut off. The caller demands credit card information or a Green Dot card as described in the first scheme.

This is also a fraudulent call. The caller is not connected with any utility or service providers. Victims are encouraged to advise the caller they will call the utility company directly, and end the phone call. You should then contact the utility company through legitimate and verified numbers.

For more information regarding other scams, visit www.riversidesheriff.org/crime/fraud.asp