(Woodland, CA) – August 16, 2018 – Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig is warning residents to be wary of fraudulent, scam phone calls where the caller pretends to be from Costco Wholesale and offers a travel voucher, cash card, or reduced travel package in exchange for your personal information.
This scam is targeting both members and non-members of Costco Wholesale where the fraudsters are attempting to collect personal information from people. The caller, pretending to work for Costco, offers either a $500 Costco Travel Credit or a Costco Cash Card as a reward for completing a survey. These fraudsters are likely using software to show a local phone number on the caller ID while hiding the real phone number of where the calls are originating from. This tactic, called spoofing, tricks the resident into wanting to pick up the phone thinking that the caller is located locally. The personal information which these fraudsters are trying to obtain can be used against you to commit identity theft in an effort to steal your money. Costco Wholesale has confirmed that these callers are in no way affiliated with Costco or Costco travel.
According to District Attorney Jeff Reisig, “Telephone scams have become more sophisticated than ever. Nobody is immune from being targeted by these persistent crooks and everyone could be affected by these calls. The best defense against becoming a victim of such a scam is knowledge and vigilance. It’s okay to say ‘no’ to these persistent crooks.”
For more information on how to spot and avoid phone scams visit this link provided by the Federal Trade Commission: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0076-phone-scams. To report scams to the Yolo County District Attorney, please call the Fraud Hotline at 855-4-YOLO-DA or visit Yoloda.org.
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