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OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT
NEWS RELEASE
| INCIDENT: | Oxnard Police Department’s Partnership with the FTC to Report Fraud and Scam Trends |
| DATE/TIME: | 04/19/17 |
| LOCATION: | Oxnard Police Department, 251 South “C” Street, Oxnard |
| PREPARED BY: | Detective Crystal Walker |
| CONTACT PERSON AND CONTACT INFO: | Detective Erica Escalante, 805-385-7661 or Erica.Escalante@OxnardPD.org |
DETAILS:
We are proud to announce that your Oxnard Police Department is now in partnership with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through the Consumer Sentinel Network, which is a nationwide law enforcement network for analyzing fraud and scam trends. Upon logging on to the network in early March to search all reports made by persons in the City of Oxnard in 2017, Financial Crimes Detective Erica Escalante found that 722 complaints had been made. While it is unfortunate that the level of scams and fraud are at such high numbers, it was heartening to see that so many people know how to make complaints to the FTC directly.
Most telephone, online and mail scams are committed by persons across state lines and national borders. It is, therefore, essential that all victims of such acts and attempts make reports to the FTC directly at www.ftc.gov so that federal law enforcement agencies and other law enforcement partners of the Consumer Sentinel Network can have access to the important data and investigative leads from your reports. A local police report is not necessary unless requested by your bank or financial institution.
In order to fight the battle against the growing trend of scammers targeting the elderly, Oxnard Police Department will use the Consumer Sentinel Network to file FTC complaints for all elderly (over age 65 years) and dependent adult victims. In addition, as mandated by California law, Oxnard Police Department cross reports to the Ventura County Adult Protective Services, another partner agency in the protection of elders and dependent adults from enduring ongoing victimization. Our own Oxnard Police Department Volunteers in Police Services or VIPS are helping with the project of entering the elder reports into the FTC complaint system.
Oxnard Police Department is also a member of the Ventura County Financial Abuse Specialist Team (VC FAST) with many other local organizations in the fight to protect elders and dependent adults from continued abuse and victimization. FAST is “a partnership of public and private multidisciplinary professionals who volunteer their time to facilitate comprehensive services to elder and dependent adult victims of financial abuse” and is a program of Senior Concerns.
Below are some helpful links:
To report a scam to the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#&panel1-1
VC Adult Protective Services: http://www.ventura.org/human-services-agency/adult-protective-services
Senior Concerns: www.seniorconcerns.org
Oxnard Police Department VIPS: https://www.oxnardpd.org/community-affairs/get-involved-stay-aware/volunteers-in-police-services/
DATE / TIME PREPARED: 04-19-17/1652