Full Notification

DATE/TIME: September 18, 2014

LOCATION: Redwood City

TYPE OF INCIDENT: Telephone scam advisory

INCIDENT SUMMARY:

The Redwood City Police Department wants to inform both residents and business owners of a pervasive telephone scam that is targeting both individuals and businesses throughout the Bay Area. Several individuals and businesses in Redwood City have been targeted by the scam in recent months and the police department wants to make the public aware of these scams and educate them on how to prevent themselves from being victimized by these scammers.

The scam comes in two different forms depending on whether the target is an individual or a business. Calls to individuals usually involve a scammer calling a person on the phone and identifying themselves as an IRS agent, law enforcement official, or court employee. The scammer has the name of their intended target and informs them that they have an outstanding debt to the IRS, an outstanding penalty for a traffic violation or an outstanding arrest warrant. The scammer then demands payment for the outstanding debt or penalty within a very short period of time, usually hours, or the victim will be arrested. The victim is advised to go to a local store and purchase pre-paid credit cards and then call back the scammer and read them the numbers on the cards. If the victim complies with these directions, the scammer will take down the numbers and advise the victim that their debt is paid, warrant is cleared, etc. If the victim questions the caller or asks for written verification of their claims, the scammer becomes very confrontational and threatens immediate arrest, threatens to use their refusal to pay as evidence against them in court, etc. The scammers often use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone numbers that are made to look like calls are coming from Washington, DC or an appropriate local area code.

Investigation has revealed that many of these scammers are based out of India, Central America, and other international locales.


The Redwood City Police Department wants to advise individuals not to wire money or purchase prepaid cards for these unsolicited calls over the telephone. The IRS and law enforcement do not operate in this manner. Neither the IRS nor local courts will ever ask for credit card, debit card, or other payment information over the phone. All such requests come in the mail and provide contact information to obtain verification. Redwood City residents are encouraged to contact the Redwood City Police Department at 650-780-7100 to verify any such claims as well as report the incident for investigation.

Calls to businesses usually involve the scammer calling the victim business on the phone and identifying themselves as a PG&E or other utility representative. The scammer tells the business owner that they are late on their utility payment, and unless immediate payment is made, the electricity will be immediately turned off to the business. The most common targets of these scammers are restaurants. Restaurants are very vulnerable to these threats as a loss of power would potentially close the business immediately. Payment is demanded in the same manner as with individuals. A Redwood City restaurant owner was targeted during two recent phone calls with the PG&E scam. Guillermo Lara who owns the Chiquitas restaurant at 1798 Broadway immediately became suspicious about the scamming calls he received and notified the police.

Although PG&E does accept credit card payments over the telephone, the payments are never demanded from an unsolicited phone call. Business owners who encounter these calls are encouraged to call the PG&E number provided on their bill (1-800-PGE-5000) to verify claims of overdue payments. Redwood City business owners are also encouraged to contact the Police Department at 650-780-7100 to report these calls for investigation.

The Redwood Police Department encourages our residents and business owners to contact us at any time to answer questions or receive direction on what to do regarding any type of suspicious activity or to report these incidents. If you want more information regarding these types of scams please contact Detective Josh Chilton at 650-780-7141.

Approved for distribution by Redwood City Police Department Investigations Division Commander, Lt. Sean Hart