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TIP OF THE DAY
The City of Lincoln has been ranked the 7th Safest City in California by SafeWise Safest City 2024 Report! Neighborhood Watch plays a role in this by being the “eyes and ears of the police.” This was reported on the Lincoln Police Departments Facebook page – along with details of recent mail theft and Fraud arrests and weekly Traffic Tip Tuesday posts.
COMPUTER SCAM
A resident reports that while on her computer taking a practice DMV test the computer flashed a big warning across the screen and a female voice stated: “This is Apple Security you have been hacked, call the FBI”. The voice then gave the resident a number to call. The resident called the number given and gave out her personal information. She was then told not to turn off her computer. She became suspicious and had her son come over and he told her it was a scam and he turned off the computer. The resident contacted her bank and found that someone had removed $1.20 from her account. The bank closed her account and reimbursed her loss.
Scammers will take small amounts of money at first to see if the information they were given is correct and to see if it draws any attention from the bank. If their transaction goes through without any problem, then the scammer increases the amount.
Never return a phone call to a number given to you via text or email and you do not know the person or company. Never give out personal information to a person or a company representative you do not know.
PHONE CALL SCAM
A resident answered the phone and was told that his computer and printer were compromised. He needed to update his firewall. The resident followed instructions that allowed the scammer access to his computer. The caller had an Indian accent and kept him on the phone for several hours The scammer then offered a $250 transfer for his cooperation. Then the scammer indicated that the transfer was mistakenly issued for $20,000 and now the resident owed $19,750 per a fake statement. When the resident said he did not have the money, the scammer said he must go to the bank and get $7,000 cash as earnest money. When the resident’s wife saw the cash, she asked what it was for. The scammer heard her in the background and became angry. At that point they hung up and went to the bank. No money was lost. A police report was made.
This incident ended well but time was lost, and anxiety occurred. Do not answer calls from unknown caller IDs. Let them leave a message. If caller ID shows a bank or law agency, do not answer, call them using a trusted phone number.
HELPFUL TIPS TO KEEP YOU FROM BEING SCAMMED
- PHONE CALLS: Do not answer the phone when you do not recognize the caller. If the call is important the caller will leave a message. After you hear the message, you can decide whether to return the call. When in doubt, contact a relative, friend or neighbor and discuss the situation.
- EMAILS: Never click on links in any unsolicited emails. If possible, call directly to any company or organization when in doubt.
- LETTERS: These scammers are very clever, and they can create very official looking letterheads for banks, credit card companies, organizations etc. When in doubt, call directly to the company or organization for verification.