Watch Out Bellevue, Scammers Are Targeting Our Community’s

Scammers are becoming more and more brazen and their attacks on gullible individuals. This time, the focal point was Bellevue. Bellevue police reported that scammers claiming that they were in Chinese law enforcement were primarily focusing on people ages 25 to 34. 

According to seattletimes.com,
‘Contacted by phone or online, victims were told they were unknowingly participating in a fraud scheme, identity theft or a major crime incident that happened overseas or in large American cities.’ 

It was several weeks ago, but my sister told me that she received a similar phone call. They tried to convince her that she needed to give them her personal information and send them money. She, however being very skeptical, said no thank you and hung up. 

The scammers contacted their victims and demanded sensitive information like identification documents, Social Security numbers, and more. The victims were then told that they needed to send a large amount of money to the scammers or in some cases, open bank accounts or be arrested by the police or have their assets frozen. 

Take care of yourself and remember this. 

It's very simple, authorities say if somebody contacts you and tells you, you need to send them a large sum of money in order to avoid being prosecuted or arrested, they're lying to you. Don't answer the e-mail or just hang up the phone. 

There are a few things that are big Tip off if you are being contacted by scammers. 

Do they,

Pressure you to act immediately  

Pretend to be from an organization that you know  

Say there’s a problem or a prize  

Tell you to pay in a specific way  

Trie to use social media to gain your trust 

Tell you not to call police 

The bottom line, as always, is Be skeptical, protect yourself, and if you think somebody is trying to run a scam on you. You can contact the FBI tip line at www.ic3.gov.
Scammers posing as Chinese police stole millions, Bellevue police say | The Seattle Times
Bellevue Police ask community to be aware of large-sum scams targeting young people  – Bellevue Beat Blog