Monterey County District Attorney Warns Against Government Impersonation Scams

Monterey, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni alerts Monterey County

residents of an online scam that has been hitting Monterey County Residents.

The scam begins with a text message or e-mail warning the recipient of some potentially fraudulent charges

on their account. When the person clicks the link, they are contacted by a person claiming to work for their

banking institution. The story progresses that their account has been compromised, that the bank security

officer is working with the FBI or other government agency to catch the hacker. They explain the only way to

keep the account safe is to withdraw money and turn it over to the scammer via cryptocurrency, cash, or some

other transaction method for safekeeping. The scammer promises that it will be held until the account is secure,

but the money is never returned.

Per the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), business and government impersonation scams are the third most

common cryptocurrency scam. In 2022, United States crypto scam losses totaled $2.3 billion dollars.

In addition to these scams impersonating the bank or government, the most common cryptocurrency losses are

bitcoin investments which promise huge returns for a small fee. Many schemes will start with a wrong number

text which leads to a conversation about cryptocurrency investments. Some scams will allow an initial “test”

withdrawal to show that the money is safe, but once the full amount is deposited the money is lost.

There are many online educational resources related to scams, including the FTC’s website

https://consumer.ftc.gov/scams, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovations

https://dfpi.ca.gov/outreach/#protectfromfraud and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Internet Crime

Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office will be vigilant about prosecuting these cases. Anyone who

has been the victim of a scam, or who has information regarding a potential fraud, should file a complaint with

their primary police agency (this may be the local police department or Monterey County Sheriff’s Office).

Additionally, you can alert our office to scams by completing the consumer complaint form located on the

Monterey County District Attorney’s website and emailing it to consumercomplaints@co.monterey.ca.us,

mailing it to the District Attorney’s Office at 1200 Aguajito Road, Suite 301, Monterey, CA 93940, or by

calling the District Attorney’s Office at (831) 647-7770.