REDWOOD CITY — Police on Thursday arrested a 22-year-old Fresno man they say tried to scam an elderly Redwood City woman.
The victim contacted police around 3 p.m. Wednesday after becoming suspicious that she was the target of a fraud scheme, the Redwood City Police Department said in a news release.
Police said the woman reported receiving messages on her iPhone that AppleCare had detected suspicious activity. She then spoke with people posing as support representatives, who told her there were fraudulent charges associated with her bank account.
The suspects instructed the woman to withdraw cash from her account and hand it over to a courier, who would come to her residence to collect the money, police said.
Police intervened at that point. They coordinated further communication with the suspects, as well as put together a plan to identify and apprehend the courier if one…
PROCUREMENT & EXPENDITURE (STOPPING KICKBACKS)
Procurement fraud usually involves inflated invoices or “fictitious” vendors.
- The Three-Way Match: Never pay an invoice unless you have matched the Purchase Order (PO), the Delivery Note (signed), and the Supplier Invoice.
- Vendor Master File Review: Review your vendor list annually. Look for suppliers with the same bank details or physical addresses as your employees.
- Dual Authorization: Implement a “Two-to-Sign” rule for all EFT payments above a certain threshold (e.g., R5,000).
- No “Cashing” of Checks: If you still use physical checks, strictly prohibit “Cash” as a payee and store blank checks in a dual-lock safe.