Phone Crooks Bilking San Mateo Residents

San Mateo police say they have seen three cases of elderly citizens being cheated by telephone scammers over the past few days  – including one resident taken for $30,000  – and are asking people to be aware of any unusual phone calls.

“These fraudsters are calling up the elderly saying, ‘Hey, I’m your grandson … I’m in jail, you need to send some money to bail me out,’” said police spokesman Sgt. Dave Norris. Police say the smooth-talking callers convince victims to wire thousands of dollars to the crooks in places like Montreal or Madrid.

According to a community alert recently released by San Mateo police, “In one San Mateo case the suspect disguised his voice by claiming he was sick and said he was arrested for DUI in New York. The suspect explained that he needed money to help pay for his public defender and provided a name and telephone number. The victim called the number provided and spoke to another male suspect who identified himself as the public defender. This suspect requests that the victim send money via Western Union or her grandson will go to jail. The victim sent the money as instructed and it was ultimately picked up in Madrid, Spain.”

In a similar con, a male caller disguised his voice by pretending to be crying uncontrollably. The two so-called "grandson scams" netted about $3,000 each, police said.

In a third case it was a woman calling, telling an elderly victim that she had won a half million dollars in a government lottery and should wire tax payments to a number in the Philippines. Five or six wire transfers were made for a total of about $30,000, police said.

Police believe that scams like these are widespread, with seven cases reported over the past year that are “very similar” to the ones in San Mateo. In Palo Alto, for example, a grandparent recently was defrauded of $10,000.

“That is not an uncommon amount for scams of this type,” Norris said. Individual transfers "never tend to go over $10,000 in any particular transaction because of reporting requirements.”

San Mateo police Det. Glen Teixeira offered the following advice to seniors: “Anyone who receives a call like this should assume this is a scam and hang up the telephone. If you do receive a call or emails like this, attempt to contact your friend or relative directly first before wiring any money.”

The crooks aren't limited to telephone schemes, however. Teixeira spoke of another recent scam in San Mateo where the con artists posed as contractors to an elderly man. They began "work" on his back entryway, then abandoned him with the entryway torn apart during the rainy season – and having taken more than $50,000 in cash.

San Mateo police ask that residents who think they have been victimized by a scam to report it by calling 650-522-7700.