Sheriff's Department Issues Scam Warning

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Another scam warning was issued late Wednesday night, this time it came from the Southwest Sheriff's Station.

The agency reported it is seeing an increase in phone scams targeting residents countywide, with"tens of thousands of dollars" ripped off from victims.

Many of the scams involve a fraudster convincing a victim to convert currency into cryptocurrency, then send the cryptocurrency elsewhere, "which tends to lead out of the country," according to the department.

"Some of the scams give the false belief the victim is investing in a new cryptocurrency. Once the money is sent outside of the United States, it is very difficult for investigators to track down and recover," the department reported.

The agency provided these tips to share with vulnerable people who could become victims:

• Never give out personal information such as name, date of birth, social security number or bank information to unsolicited callers.
• Never respond to an unsolicited email asking you to confirm personal information such as bank accounts or passwords.
• If someone calls claiming you have a warrant out for your arrest, hang up and call the Riverside County Sheriff's Department at 951-776–1099.
• If someone calls claiming you owe money to the IRS, hang up and call your local IRS office. Neither law enforcement agencies, including the sheriff's department, nor the IRS will accept wire transfers, money orders, Bitcoin, other cryptocurrency, or gift cards as payment.
• If someone calls claiming a family member has been involved in an accident or arrested, call a family member to confirm it is true. Never wire money or pay someone with gift cards before verifying the information.
• If somebody wants you to deposit cash into a kiosk-like ATM machine for crypto transactions, it is most likely a scam.
• Never trust the number that appears on your caller ID. Technology allows fraudsters to fake the caller ID information.

If you have become the victim of a scam or want to report fraud, contact the sheriff's department at 951-776–1099. Pass Area residents can contact Beaumont police at 951-769-8500 or Banning police at 951-922-3170.