Woman Spots Elaborate Scam Before Handing Over Cash In SMC, Suspect Arrested: Police

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A Redwood City woman realized she was being targeted by scammers before handing over any money, helping police set up an operation that ended Thursday with the arrest of a suspected courier in San Francisco, authorities said.

The investigation began Wednesday when the woman contacted Redwood City police after receiving messages on her iPhone claiming “AppleCare” had detected suspicious activity involving her phone.

She later spoke with people posing as AppleCare support representatives who told her there were fraudulent charges associated with her bank account, police said.

The scammers instructed the woman to withdraw cash and hand it to a “courier” who would come to her Redwood City home to collect it.

Instead, she contacted police.

Investigators then coordinated additional communications with the suspects and developed a plan to identify and arrest the courier if someone arrived, police said.

On Thursday evening, investigators spotted a suspicious vehicle repeatedly driving near the woman's home. Officers tried to pull over the driver, but police said the vehicle sped away. Officers said they did not pursue it because of traffic conditions and the potential danger to the public.

Investigators later determined that the vehicle had traveled to San Francisco and contacted San Francisco police.

San Francisco officers ultimately disabled the vehicle and took the driver into custody.

Police identified the driver as Sartaj Singh, 22, of Fresno.

Singh was booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility on suspicion of financial elder abuse, attempted grand theft, conspiracy and fraud, police said.

Police said the woman did not lose any money because she became suspicious and contacted authorities before turning over the cash.

The investigation remains ongoing.