Police Issue Warning About Western Union Transactions

The Petaluma Police Department has been investigating numerous scams involving Western Union transactions, including fraudulent claims of lottery/sweepstakes winnings.

These scams usually involve multiple jurisdictions, including out of state, and are very difficult to investigate, police say. In fact, in most cases the money is never recovered and the perpetrators never caught.

To help prevent Petaluma residents from becoming victims, the Petaluma police have come up with some guidelines they hope will help consumers identify fraud. (And if you have elderly parents or grandparents who don't use the Internet, by all means, print out these guidelines and discuss the risks with them.)

Here are a few things to watch out for:

• When someone asks you to wire money via Western Union.
• When someone says that you have to send money before you can claim a prize
• When someone calls you to make bail for a relative who is in custody in another country
• If you receive a check and are asked to deposit it and send back a portion of the money via wire or into another person’s bank account
• When “Craigslist” transactions are conducted and the buyer or seller is out of state or country
• When someone contacts you claiming to be a “Secret Shopper”
• When you receive an email saying that you’ve inherited a large sum of money
• When someone comes to you with an offer that just seems to be too good to be true.

If you are contacted by someone and you feel as though the person might be trying to scam you, notify the police right away at (707) 778-4372.