Scams are part of everyday life and your police department wants to arm you with information to safeguard your wallet and identity. Scammers have many stories and misrepresent themselves to extract money away from you.
While scams vary in origin, many commonly require the victim to obtain a money pack, Green dot card, money gram or other type of payment method to avoid a penalty. If you or someone you know receives a call where you are instructed to make a payment and threatened with arrest, deportation or something similar, it is likely false. Almost all government agencies communicate by mail and DO NOT collect debt payments via the phone.
Thanks to the suggestion of a San Mateo resident, we created a Scam Alert web page to share the latest fraud schemes. Another great example of how community partnerships help us grow as your police department!
Learn more by checking out our NEW Scam Alert web page at https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4091 .
