Views: 4
Recent Phone Scams
-
- A resident recently fell for the Grandchild scam & lost $9200. The caller was very convincing and the resident was vulnerable because another grandchild recently died.
- Another resident came home & received a phone message giving her son’s name and that he was in critical condition in the hospital. She was instructed to call a certain number for details. Instead she called her daughter-in-law at home and her son answered the phone. Calling a relative saved her from a scam.
- Phone calls showing your own name on the caller ID are still coming in. You need to resist answering because to do so will let them know it is a valid number. If you have cordless landline phones, you can lower or mute the volume on one of the handsets while letting it ring 10 times. Cell phones have a button on the side to mute the ringing.
- Phone calls stating that your social security number has been suspended are still coming in. Just hang up!
Email scam
An alert resident received an email from her “Pastor’s email address.” The message asked her to reply when she had time as the “Pastor” needed a favor. She replied and the “Pastor” asked that she purchase some Google Play gift cards “for some women with cancer who are in the hospital” because she’s too busy. It did not sound right because no names were mentioned and she wondered why hospital patients would need the gift cards. She texted the pastor who replied that “NO she did not send the email.” This alert resident changed the password on her email and alerted the church secretary so they could take necessary measures.
Nextdoor.com Website
We have had residents ask about Nextdoor.com for two reasons:
-
- They question whether it is legitimate because they received emails, letters or postcards in the US Mail asking them to join.
- Unauthorized invitation letters are going out with their name and the letters are mailed from Southern California.
Regarding #1, NextDoor is a legitimate website. Their mission statement is “Nextdoor is the private social network for neighborhoods; we hope that neighbors everywhere will use the Nextdoor platform to build stronger and safer neighborhoods. It is similar to the Lincoln Hills Yahoo group. It is a closed site requiring proof that you live in the neighborhood. Once on the website, messages are categorized by crime & safety, recommendations (for vendors, doctors, etc,) items for sale & other categories. They recently started taking advertisements which appear in the middle of comments. These do not pop up; you can continue scrolling and ignore them.
Regarding #2, members can invite others to join by sending an email, postcard or create a flyer to post. This is done through the website but in the recent cases, the residents did not request the invitations be sent. The Nextdoor.com privacy policy states that the these invitations must be sent at your request.
If invitations were sent without your permission, you can lodge a complaint by calling the Privacy Department in San Francisco at 415-569-7971 or email privacy@nextdoor.com.
More Information About Scams
The April 2019 AARP has a lengthy article about scams and how to protect yourself. If you are a member, you should have received a copy in the mail. If not, you can read it here: https://www.aarp.org/bulletin/
Click here for our flyer about Scams.
The short list:
Phone: HANG UP
Email: DO NOT click on links & DELETE suspicious email
Online: Look for “https” at the beginning of the address and/or a padlock
At home: Deny opportunities for theft by FULLY closing garage door & locking doors & windows
Suspicious Activity : Observe & report suspicious activity to LPD IMMEDIATELY. 9-1-1 emergency, 916-645-4040 non-emergency.
Discover Neighborhood Watch in three easy Steps:
- Find us at sclhwatch.org
- Click on Alerts, just above the photos. There you will see all the Alerts sent out since the new website went live in June, 2018.
- Click on SECURITY in the menu bar with the brown background. Review many flyers with safety and security tips.