Capt. Richard Corriea: Scam artists alive and well

Officers from the Richmond Station have investigated several criminal scams in the past month. Each case is noteworthy because of the substantial dollar loss and catastrophic victim impact.

These cases involve sweepstakes and lottery scams, and are all too common in the Richmond District. Below you will read about one such case, which I hope will give context to the devastation these sorts of crime cause.

On Feb. 18, officers responded to a call at a brokerage house concerning unusual account activity by an elderly client. An account executive suspected that his client was the victim of a fraud. The victim wanted to withdraw all of her funds from her account and was vague as to why she needed the money.

The officers learned that earlier in the month the victim, an 83-year-old Richmond District resident, received a telephone call wherein she was informed that she had won a lottery and that to collect her winnings she needed to pay the taxes first. The caller, who identified himself as a government official, knew the victim's name, address and some of her personal information. The victim, who was at first skeptical, ultimately sent cashiers checks totaling more than $75,000 to individuals in other countries. She was told that a courier accompanied by a police escort would deliver the lottery winnings.

The victim in fact did not receive any lottery winnings and instead received a telephone call telling her that the payout was delayed because her winnings had been understated. The "great news" was that the purse had doubled to $5 million, a development that required an additional tax of $40,000. The perpetrator had been speaking with the victim daily to assure her that her prize would be delivered.

They developed a cordial and friendly relationship and the victim was able to telephone the perpetrator as often as she wished.

Officers went to the victim's home and dissuaded her from sending the additional $40,000. The victim was hesitant, at first, still believing that she had won the lottery, but agreed not to send any more money. The officers alerted several other agencies to the victim's plight.

The next day, officers visited the victim to check on her well-being. They learned that the perpetrator had called again and was able to reassure and then convince the victim that she had won the lottery. The victim had just returned from mailing a $40,000 cashier's check to the "lottery." Officers were able to retrieve the check.

We believe these crimes are under-reported. Victims tend to be embarrassed and fear that if the crime is reported they will lose legal control over their assets. When I met the victim several days later she seemed a bit lonely and sad, and had a sense of impending dependency. How could such a crime happen? You might think that no prudent person could be victimized. Not so!

The victims tend to be older, but not always. Older victims tend to live alone and manage their personal and financial affairs adequately. Some victims may be a tad gullible and others may suffer some slight dementia. Also, the dream of "free money" or the tantalizing sense that one's "ship has come in" are powerful inducements. The perpetrators in these cases are skilled at boosting the victim's confidence in them and allaying concerns. They use calling lists organized by zip code and sorted by age and household demographics to identify targets.

Please watch over your family, friends and neighbors as best you can. If you see any of them in the company of strangers or hear talk of a financial windfalls, please ask a few gentle questions. And remember that it is illegal for a legitimate sweepstakes to require any money up front before paying out winnings. Please call the police immediately if you suspect fraud. You can also visit San Francisco Safety Awareness for Everyone (SAFE) at www.sfsafe.org or call them at 553-1984 for more information about this topic.

The Richmond Station distributes an e-mail newsletter every Friday. To be added to this list, please e-mail sfpd.richmondstation@sfgov.org. And please visit http://richmondforum.wordpress.com/ to see our Web site, where the current newsletter, past editions and periodic public safety advisories are posted.

Community forum in March
Please attend the next community/police forum on March 18, at 1 p.m., at the Richmond Recreation Center's auditorium, which is located at 351 18th Ave. The police department's fraud inspector, Gregory Ovanessian, will speak about criminal scams and confidence schemes. Ovanessian has investigated thousands of cases and has deep roots in the Richmond, where he worked for many years.

Capt. Richard Corriea is the commanding officer at the Richmond Station.