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Published on 05/26/1999 All articles from this issue

'Bank examiner' scam swindles elderly Los Altos man of $1,000s

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

He was just trying to help. Instead he got scammed.

When the call came to withdraw $4,800 to work with a "bank examiner" to catch an embezzler, this elderly, longtime Los Altos man immediately agreed.

"There's a whole generation of people who trust and believe," said Noreen Sorg, community service officer for crime prevention with the Los Altos Police Department. "They are bright, intelligent people, who get caught up in trying to help. Helpfulness overrides all else."

The May 3 call came from a man who said he was Richard Davis, and that the Los Altos man's bank account had been tampered with, Sorg said.

Davis told the man to make out a check to cash for $4,800 and meet him in the handicapped parking area at the Mountain View Library.

He did. Then he turned over his cash to a man who identified himself as an FBI agent, and left with the money, Sorg said.

Later that day, another call came, asking the gentleman to again write a check for cash, this time for $6,000, and to return to the library. He did and again turned over his cash, Sorg said.

This time he was told to meet with a Lt. North of the state police.

The Los Altos gentleman called the FBI. And the scam was uncovered. The FBI and the Los Altos Police are investigating. Sorg said there is no state police in California.

How the con artists find the victims "is a mystery to us," Sorg said. "Usually they target seniors. They read the obituaries," she said. This gentleman had lost his wife about three years ago, Sorg said.

"I would love to catch these guys," Sorg said. When she finds how they prey on people, "I get mad."

Now she wants to let others know about the scam and ways they can protect themselves. "This can happen in our beautiful city," she said. "It could happen to anybody. We really have to be careful."

It's not the first time it has happened in Los Altos.

First, Sorg said, "People need to understand, when they get these calls, that banks don't use customers for security. They hire people and deal with it internally," she said.

Second, people need to call the police immediately. "There's an embarrassment factor," she said, and sometimes a person who has been victimized doesn't want anyone to know.

Katarene Tsih, manager at the Washington Mutual branch in downtown Los Altos, offered these tips.

"Don't just take the information given over the phone without doing some research," Tsih said. "Stop and give yourself the opportunity to think about it. Get a phone number and call back. And in most cases, they won't leave a phone number."

That should be an immediate red flag, she said.

And "don't volunteer information right off the bat," she said.

She also advised getting to know your bank branch, so you will "hear a familiar name or voice," should a call come allegedly from a bank.