Petaluma police to hold workshop on fraud prevention

The meeting comes amid a rise in phone scams, many targeting elderly residents.|

Scam, fraud and identity theft prevention workshop

When: 6:30-7:30 p.m., May 24

Where: Lucchesi Community Center, 320 Petaluma Blvd.

Police are cautioning residents to remain vigilant as scammers unrelentingly target the city, draining thousands of dollars from Petalumans’ pocketbooks each year.

Schemes manifest in many forms – a threatening phone call from a sham IRS agent demanding payment for outstanding bills, a knock on the door from a solicitor seeking money for a bogus charity or a convincing email from someone posing as a relative in need of a financial bailout – but police say a common thread is an exploitation of fear.

“These people operate on fear and intimidation. … If challenged, sometimes they’ll threaten your family members and say ‘we know where you live and we’ll kill you,’” I’ve heard those calls before,” police Lt. Ed Crosby said.

Though incidents are happening frequently – departmental records show 1,937 reports of cases of counterfeiting, forgery, fraud and embezzlement logged since 2012 – it’s difficult for police to crack down on scammers. In the past five years, only 214 related arrests have been made, according to department records.

Phone calls often originate from foreign countries, and scammers seek GreenDot money cards, wire transfers or gift cards as payment, which are impossible to trace. Unpermitted door-to-door solicitors are hard to track down, and often don’t carry identification, Crosby said.

Scammers often take aim at Petaluma’s senior population, a demographic that may be more trusting, less digitally literate and potentially struggling with health concerns, Crosby said.

But, those incidents aren’t limited to the elderly – Crosby recalled a middle-aged man who came to police headquarters fearing for his life after receiving an email from a sham hitman who threated to kill him unless he sent a payment. A 25-year-old woman poured out thousands in iTunes gift cards to a fake IRS agent who warned she’d be arrested if she didn’t comply and make payments on alleged outstanding bills.

Police are also investigating a recent incident where a local business lost $500,000 in the span of a few weeks after falling victim to an email scam, Crosby said.

While there may be few means to eliminate scams, police encourage residents to stay alert to protect themselves. The department has assembled volunteer teams of local experts to hold public seminars to address trends and best practices, including an upcoming May 24 workshop at 6:30 p.m. at Lucchesi Community Center.

“The best thing you can do is look before you leap,” Crosby said. “Ask a friend or a relative before you give anyone money based on someone who solicited you over the phone or the internet. Take five extra minutes to contact someone you know and trust and run it past them. If the calls are legitimate, someone should give you a callback number. If they don’t give it to you, that’s a sign they’re not legitimate.”

Katherine Wells, a financial adviser at Edward Jones, is among the eight volunteers the department enlists to help with its broader education efforts.

“There’s been folks that have at times lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to scammers – for a senior, that could potentially be a life savings,” said Wells, who will speak at the upcoming workshop. “As for identity theft, it’s the same thing, it can affect your credit and it can affect you. They can also take your money, use your credit cards or clear out your bank account. It’s just important to be vigilant.”

Petaluma People Services Center Executive Director Elece Hempel said her organization also offers scam and fraud workshops at the senior center, and case managers working with elderly residents stress the importance of awareness.

“We constantly are reminding our seniors that they have to be careful … but it can happen to anyone,” she said.

Those who suspect they have been a victim of a scam can contact the Petaluma Police Department at 778-4372.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)

Scam, fraud and identity theft prevention workshop

When: 6:30-7:30 p.m., May 24

Where: Lucchesi Community Center, 320 Petaluma Blvd.

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