The following is from the Walnut Creek Police Department:
The Walnut Creek Police Department would like to make the community aware of a current scam that has been trending throughout the area.
There have been reports of couples approaching citizens after they have been watching them at the ATM or enter a pin number while in line at a store.
The couple will follow the victim and claim the victim dropped a bill of some value and while the victim is distracted, take their wallet or debit card.
The card will then be used to make fraudulent purchases at a store, or to withdraw large sums of cash from an ATM.
We pass on this information in hopes that our citizens continue to be cognizant of their surroundings and stay safe.
Should you fall victim to a crime like this, please contact our dispatch center at 925-935-6400.
And also as a friendly reminder, do not give your personal information out over the phone! There is a scam involving phone numbers spoofing police department phone numbers and asking for your personal information.
If you want to confirm if you are really speaking with a police officer or department, contact their publicly listed dispatch number and confirm if the officer works for the department and ask for a call back from them.
12 comments
It should go without saying that absolutely no one should give out their personal information over the phone or in an email or text. There are absolutely no legitimate companies that will ask for that information in that manner. Even if an email, text or phone call uses words threatening legal action, don’t fall for it. Hang up on them and delete those emails and texts.
I got a call yesterday saying I have a credit coming from PGE and asked me to hit 1 for further info. Obviously I hung up, a total scam. It’s so sad that people fall for this kind of thing, especially seniors. Just hang up or don’t answer!
There are too many people who never ask questions, they just comply as if their brain is at an idle. Often, I’ll see it in a store, the clerk will ask for their phone number or e-mail address, and they give it out as if they are giving it to their best friend, and they have no idea what the store will do with their information. Then they wonder why they are getting so many robocalls, and spam.
If a customer needs something mailed to them we always get the phone number, however they only get calls if there is a problem with the delivery. Email is used so the store can email you when the order ships and when it is delivered. However, the email can be omitted if someone does not want to supply it. What I’m surprised about is how many people think we can look up there Macy’s card with a phone number. Often when customers are asked if they have a Macy’s card they say yes, and then give a phone number, of course we can not look up a card with a phone number, I then ask for ID, and often the customer will say “Oh it is not my card it is my mother’s or sister’s”. I of course no we cannot use someone else’s card if they are not with you. Some will even say I have the social security #!! I think some inexperienced associate might comply, of course I will not.
It happened to me at the Country Wood ATM years ago. There was a couple not from Walnut Creek hanging around the ATM and when I finished my transaction they huddled in front of the ATM and I drove off. Ten minutes later I got a call from the bank asking if I made two withdrawals. The bank put my money back in the account. Never figured out how they did that. I don’t think they could have seen my pin number. So if you see anyone hanging close to an ATM go somewhere else.
Stupid is as stupid does…
It seems a great number of people nowadays have absolutely no moral values!
I remember just 20 years ago if you accidentally left your credit card on top of the gas pump somebody would turn it in and that would be it. Now if you left your credit card on top of the gas pump people seem to have no issue with using your card to fill up their tank….and their friends tanks. ( yes I accidentally left my card on top of the gas pump and it happened to me) Arnt people taught anymore that it is wrong to steal and that there’s right and there’s wrong? I think we’ve qualified things to mean that if somebody has something more than you it’s okay to steal from them or if you had a harder life in the past it’s okay to victimize someone else. This new way of thinking is going to bring Society down.
Sounds like you bs-ing.. you wanna explain how you knew they weren’t from WC? BS
Lowly vermin fit only for extermination.
There are honest people, we do have customers that turns in wallets, cards, phones that someone might have dropped or left somewhere by mistake.
For RICARDOH, and any others, put your hand over the keypad when typing in your PIN. Maybe they watched the position of your fingers when you typed in your pin?
Also, I’m one of the older generation, I guess. I once found a smart phone, and several times, I’ve found bank cards in the parking lot or by the ATM, and I’ve always turned them in.
They are now calling saying they are your utility company and have a refund for you. Press 1 to speak with a rep
PG#E would state their name and not be a recording. about that. It would just be a credit on your bill.
Watch out for this scam too!
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