San Mateo Police Warn Of Scammers Pretending To Be Detectives

SAN MATEO, CA — Scammers pretending to be detectives with the San Mateo Police Department are making phone calls and asking for gift cards, according to the department.

The police department issued a news release on Thursday clarifying that the calls are not coming from members of the police department and that anyone who receives such a request should hang up the phone and block the caller’s number.

“Sometimes, the caller's phone number appears as a legitimate SMPD phone number (i.e. 650-522-7700 or a variation of the last four), however, we advise caution when answering these calls,” the news release stated.

The department reminded the public that phone calls from the police will usually come up with an “unknown” caller ID because their lines are blocked. Police do not ask for money, gift cards or personal information over the phone.

Visit https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4091 for more information on scam alerts.