SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, July 2, the San Francisco Police Department posted on X that they are investigating a recent scam in which victims are prompted on their computers to dial a 1-800 number. Upon calling the number, a “financial institution representative” instructs the victim to liquidate their assets to prevent fraud.
The victims are instructed to purchase gold bars which are later provided to the suspect(s). A recent victim in SF has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the scam.
The SFPD are noting some Financial Fraud Prevention Tips:
-Exercise caution when prompted with any kind of financial information via computer or text message from an unknown person, phone number, or email address.
-Do not believe that someone is associated with a financial institution w/o verification.
-Do not provide ID or financial information to someone you do not know or an unidentified person over the phone.
-Be wary of anyone asking you to convert your money into gold bars or any other currency.
Report suspicious activity. Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a financial scam, they should immediately report it to your financial institution to prevent further loss and then contact the SFPD to file a report or call 415-553-0123.
