scams

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The FBI anticipates cyber actors will exploit increased use of virtual environments by government agencies, the private sector, private organizations, and individuals as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Computer systems and virtual environments provide essential communication services for telework and education, in addition to conducting regular business. The criminal, or cyber actor, will exploit vulnerabilities in these systems to steal sensitive information, target individuals and businesses performing financial transactions, and engage in extortion.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - Two men were arrested after residents of Incline Village reported concerns of suspicious and aggressive salesmen going door-to-door in their neighborhood on Saturday evening.

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the area of Carano Court and Oneil Way around 7:00 p.m. on July 13.

Upon arrival, they made contact with two subjects, later identified as Prince Ojionuka, age 30, and Torris Heckard, age 52. By that time, deputies were also contacted by several other residents who had similar complaints against the two men.

The El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency, Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP) is pleased to present a free Aging & Caregiver educational series in South Lake Tahoe. The series will provide instruction and support for people who care for, or plan to care for, a family member or friend aged 60 years or older.

The educational series will be held at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, located at 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd in South Lake Tahoe, on Mondays from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the following dates:

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Liberty Utilities is warning the public of aggressive phone scams targeting utility customers.

People playing the popular Scrabble-like digital game 'Words With Friends' are now the target of scammers who prey on unsuspecting people. This scam, along with a resurgence of IRS scams, has come to the attention of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO).

A scam to get social security numbers from unsuspecting residents is growing exponentially and losses of $10 million were reported in the last year.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) recently made connections with a senior citizen through their new Caring Neighbors Program. They found the senior had been scammed out of over $34,000 over the past 20 months.

In the program, a deputy and a volunteer visit seniors to obtain needed information such as consent, next of kin and medication information. The information is beneficial in case of a future emergency involving the senior citizen.

Scammers have been making money for years by convincing their victims to send money for a variety of reasons including promised prizes, loans, jobs, discounted products or other financial rewards in exchange for money upfront. At times the scammers even pretend to be family members in need of cash or law enforcement officers demanding payment. The scammers told people to send money through Western Union. No one received the cash, prizes or services they were promised, and before now there was no way to get their money back.

More than a dozen reports from the public about a phone scam prompted the Washoe County Sheriff's Office to issue an alert.

The callers claim to be a person's grandchild and they are in need of financial assistance because they're in jail, or have been involved in an accident. It is not unusual for scammers to use personal information about a potential victim’s family members in order to sound credible. This type of information is often easily obtained via the Internet or social media.

Unknowingly, visitors to South Lake Tahoe are renting legitimate vacation homes through illegitimate parties, leaving them without money or a place to stay when they arrive.

South Tahoe Now has been warning people for years about renting both short-term and long-term homes through Craigslist, the online classified ad forum.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department is warning potential vacation home renters that scams continue on Craigslist.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office now has a designated E-commerce Exchange Zone for members of the public looking for a safe, neutral location to complete online transactions.

Two parking spaces in front of the Sheriff’s headquarters at 911 Parr Boulevard in Reno are reserved specifically for e-commerce transactions. Those spaces are located near the front of the parking lot, in a well-lit area subject to 24-hour video surveillance.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Three Liberty Utilities customers have fallen victim to aggressive phone scams over the last two days taking at least $2,500 from the victims.

In each case the crooks pose as a Liberty Utilities collections representative who threatens to shut off their power if payment was not made within a specified period of time. Sometimes the caller has specific customer information such as last payment amount; Liberty is unaware of how this information has been obtained.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office received a number of reports this week from persons who say they received phone calls from someone claiming to be from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and stating that the potential victim has “law enforcement issues” which need to be taken care of financially.

Indian police have arrested 70 people and are questioning hundreds more after uncovering a massive scam to cheat thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars by posing as U.S. tax authorities and demanding unpaid taxes, a police officer said Thursday.

South Lake Tahoe residents were not immune to the targeted scams.

According to police in Mumbai, the yearlong scam involved running fake call centers which sent voice mail messages telling U.S. nationals to call back because they owed back taxes.

Just as people are seeing some extra cash in their pocket with tax returns being processed, scams are on the rise in South Lake Tahoe, and elsewhere, trying to cash in on the extra dough.

In South Lake Tahoe last week, a woman who was selling furniture was caught up in a scam that ended up costing her $1,500, the same price she was selling the items for. According to El Dorado County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Seligsohn, scams are getting more sophisticated such as the vacation rental scams, but the sold furniture scam this victim fell for is very common.

Liberty Utilities is once again warning the public of both phone and email scams targeting utility customers that appears to becoming more aggressive. Other utilities in the Lake Tahoe region have also been experiencing these calls.

In today's Mountain Resort Television segment, reporter Austyn Harrington covers the winner of a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, how to identify vacation rental/housing scams, and your Weekly Wag with Strawberry Fields Animal Rescue.

After the arrest last week of two people stealing packages off doorsteps in South Lake Tahoe, big city problems of holiday package theft are no longer something that happens elsewhere.

During the past two weeks, several El Dorado County residents have been the target of scam artists attempting to obtain money from them. The scammers are not from the area and use internet based phones which allow them to select a local area code. They have been identifying themselves as local law enforcement and tell the call takers that they have missed jury duty and that a warrant has been issued for their arrest. The scammers tell the victims if they don’t pay, they will be arrested for the warrant. In most cases the caller has told the victim the amount of the warrant was $5,500.00.

Imagine packing up the car and heading up to South Lake Tahoe to enjoy a week at the large vacation home you just rented, only to find out that the house isn't yours to use when you arrive.

That scenario happened over the recent holiday when not one, not two, but four different groups thought they rented a home on Bonita Road near Heavenly Mountain Resort. All of the groups found a home for rent on Craigslist, a popular website used for buying, selling and renting.

An elderly South Lake Tahoe resident is the victim of a phone scam where he sent a undisclosed amount of money to unknown people. The phone number initiating the scam was from the area code 876, which is Jamaica.

The resident called SLT Police Department to alert them that he received phone calls from people he didn't know who were trying to obtain money from him. The victim was told by the caller that he was stuck in customs and needed help getting out. The suspect convinced the elderly victim to send him a large amount of money.

They knew something was amiss when they couldn't find the home on Saddle Road listed on their vacation rental home contract. A group of 15 college students came to South Lake Tahoe to enjoy the three day SnowGlobe festival, where their time would be spent at the concert, enjoying the town and kicking back in a fully furnished ski cabin. But the lodging situation wasn't as expected since they fell victims to a "craiglist" scam and paid for a rental home that wasn't real.

A new investigator position designed to look into elder abuse and financial crimes will be added to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office detective bureau, Sheriff John D’Agostini announced Monday.

For South Lake Tahoe timeshare resorts and their many owners, scams revolving around the resale and transfer of the properties are a growing concern."We have a lot of happy people that vacation wit...