The Placer County Sheriff's Office reported the recovery of $97,000 for a resident who was the victim of a sophisticated scam. According to the Placer County Sheriff's Office's Facebook post, the scam began when the victim was contacted by individuals posing as representatives from a national bank’s fraud department. The scammers falsely claimed that her accounts had been compromised and persuaded her to transfer funds to secure accounts they controlled.
The incident was first reported in Granite Bay last November. Detective Kim of the Property Crimes Unit led the investigation, obtaining a search warrant for relevant bank records. The effort resulted in the recovery of nearly $100,000 following a recent court order, part of the more than $120,000 stolen through fraudulent wire transfers.
Investigators determined that the scammers gained the victim’s trust by referencing her legitimate account activity and convincing her to read back a verification code, which gave them remote access to her accounts.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office reminded the public that legitimate financial institutions will not ask customers to transfer money to safe accounts or to share verification codes. Officials advised anyone receiving suspicious calls to hang up and contact their bank directly using verified contact information.
