Two Scams Circulating in Palo Alto; Don't Be A Victim!

SCAM Report from the Palo Alto Police Department:

Scam Alert: If you receive a phone call from someone posing as a police officer and demanding money to pay for a "jury summons warrant," it's a scam and please don't fall for it! 

This happened twice recently in Palo Alto. Residents received phone calls from an official-sounding man who identified himself as a police officer. In both cases, the suspect claimed that the victims had missed a jury duty appearance and now had outstanding $1,000 warrants for their arrest. 

In order to take care of the warrants, the suspect told the victims they needed to go to a 7-Eleven convenience store and obtain two $500 "Green Dot MoneyPaks" (what amounts to a reloadable debit card - seewww.moneypak.com for more details) and provide them with the unique identifying number on the back of the card.

One of the victims went to a 7-Eleven, purchased a $500 card, and gave the number to the suspect - which allowed him to take the money remotely. The victim then became suspicious and notified police. The other victim recognized the scam right away and called us. 

In both cases, the victims were in their 60s or 70s. It is unknown at this point if the suspect was intentionally targeting older individuals, or if that was merely a coincidence between these two cases. 

Our detectives are investigating. 

This is, unfortunately, a common scam nationwide (which a quick internet search will confirm). Similar cases have recently been reported in Pleasanton and elsewhere in the Bay Area. 

Please know that police officers, neither here in Palo Alto nor anywhere else, will ever solicit cash from you over the phone to take care of an outstanding warrant. If you receive such a call, please note the number from which the call originated, hang up, and notify us immediately by calling our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. 

If you've been the victim of this scam, please also call us at 650-329-2413 to file a report.

SCAM Report from Debra Katz, Utilities Communications Manager, City of Palo Alto:

In the latest round of this truly nefarious money-bilking scheme, scam artists are targeting residents and businesses with foreign-sounding last names who may speak limited English---and calling to demand payment for overdue utilities bills.

The threat?  Your power will be shut off if you do not pay immediately.

Worse still, in this latest iteration, calls are rigged so that the City of Palo Alto Utilities Customer Service number (650-329-2161) shows as the "caller ID" which makes the call seem even more legitimate.
 
This number is being used for calls into East Palo Alto as well, so PG&E customers there are calling us as a result.  Yesterday, one such resident told us she'd just paid $300 (via MoneyPak) in response to a call.  Needless to say, she will never see that money again.

What can people do to protect themselves?

Hang up!  Do not agree to pay!  Nobody's power would ever be shut off out of the blue like this.

When a customer has an overdue utilities bill, we send several warning notices by mail and hand delivery before making a phone call.  

If a person has any doubt about a call being legitimate, they should hang up and then call us (or PG&E if they live outside Palo Alto) directly to verify whether there are outstanding charges.

If someone gets a scam call, they should report it to the Police.

We urge people to warn family, friends and neighbors---especially if they are recent immigrants and/or have limited English language skills, which makes them easier for these creepy callers to intimidate and fool.