Financial Crime Safety Tips

Phone, Email, and Internet Safety:

• Understand that wiring money, paying with gift cards or mailing money orders to someone is like sending cash.
• If someone calls claiming you have a warrant out for your arrest, hang up and call your local law enforcement agency to verify. Never call the number provided by the caller or the number that shows up on caller ID.
• If someone calls claiming you owe money to the IRS, hang up and call your local IRS office.
• Law Enforcement agencies and the IRS will never accept wire transfers, money orders, Bitcoin, other cryptocurrency, or gift cards as payment.
• Never give out personal information such as name, date of birth, social security number or bank information to unsolicited callers.
• Never respond to an unsolicited email asking you to confirm personal information such as bank accounts or passwords.
• Be wary of job offers that want you to receive wire transfers or checks and send money somewhere else.
• If someone calls claiming a family member has been involved in an accident or arrested, call a family member and confirm that this is true. Never wire money or pay someone with gift cards before verifying the information.
• Never trust the number that appears on your caller ID. Technology allows fraudsters to fake the caller ID information. 

ATM Safety:

• Be aware of your surroundings when approaching an ATM. Look for individuals loitering around an ATM or nearby.
• Beaware of... 
  • Anyone "shoulder surfing" or trying to see you enter your PIN number.
  • Anyone claiming a particular ATM is broken or directs you to a certain ATM.
  • Anyone who offers to assist you with your transaction.
• Ignore anyone claiming that you dropped money on the ground.

• Cover the keypad whenever possible to obscure concealed cameras from observing PIN entry.
• Look carefully to see if something appears suspicious about any ATM or payment device.
• Report suspicious persons, activity, or devices.
  

Long Beach Police Department
Call Police Dispatch at (562) 435-6711 to report suspicious activity or dial 9-1-1 for emergencies.