Incident Date: 02-05-2019

Incident Time: 1300

Case Number: 19-1523

Posted by: Dispatch/ Media Relations

On 2-5-2019, Deputies from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office were contacted at the Visalia Substation regarding possible fraud.

The victim told deputies that two men, identifying themselves as Police Officers, called her and said that her Social Security number had been compromised.  They then instructed her to withdraw all funds from her bank account and deposit the money in a Bitcoin account for safe keeping.

The victim was told two other police officers would come to her home to collect her "transaction confirmation codes" and provide her with a new Social Security number.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone that Law Enforcement will never ask you to deposit any amount of funds into different types of accounts such as Bitcoin, PayPal, Green Dot, or Money Transfers in lieu of any types of services.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at (559)733-6218 or send anonymous information by sending a text or email to TCSO@tipnow.com or call (559) 725-4194.