South San Francisco Resident Nearly Falls Victim to Email Scam

By Bay City News Service:

A South San Francisco resident nearly became the victim of an email scammer who tried to gain access to his bank account Tuesday, police said.

The victim received an email claiming to be from “South African Attorney Peter Lawrence” that said the victim had inherited $7.5 million from someone named Allen Cooper in South Africa, South San Francisco police said.

The victim replied to the email with his contact information and the scammer called him and told him he would need to pay a small amount of money for probate fees, police said.

The scammer also told the victim he would need to provide his bank account numbers in order to transfer the money into his account, police said.

The victim refused to provide his bank information after the scammer became angry and demanding when he hesitated, according to police.

The victim reported the incident to police. Had he provided his bank account information, the scammer would likely have been able to access and drain his account, police said.

Police advise residents never to give personal information, bank account information or send money in response to similar emails.

If anyone ever calls demanding money from cash cards, residents should contact their local police departments.