Phone and Web Scams Blitz the Palisades Inspector General: Such Calls Are Rising Yearly by 13 Percent, Ac- by JOHN HARLOW Ery Day
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Palisadian-Post Serving the Community Since 1928 24 Pages Thursday, September 21, 2017 ◆ Pacific Palisades, California $1.50 2013, according to the Treasury Phone and Web Scams Blitz the Palisades Inspector General: Such calls are rising yearly by 13 percent, ac- By JOHN HARLOW ery day. In a blood-chilling litany of mon” wormed $66,000 out of one cording to the telecom company and GABRIELLA BOCK It is not just the elderly. larceny, she ran through the play- victim, asking Granny to hand it First Orion. With an increasing variety book. over to a courier. But in this case, There are many variants, Cho espite residents leaving their of professionally written cold First up, the dating site sweet- Simon was tracked and arrested. said, and, like all predator hunts, garage doors open at 3 a.m., call “scripts” being deployed by heart who woos for hours on the David Card, representing the the vast majority fail. DPacific Palisades may be the saf- criminals at home and abroad, phone, sends gifts and photo- Rotary Club, recalled an early A few successes, however, est city in Los Angeles, LAPD a surprising number of young- graphs but never shows his or her morning call from a “policeman” justify establishing well-funded Senior Lead Officer Michael er people are falling for scams, face on Skype. That is a red flag, seeking bail for a relative. Al- call centers of criminals willing Moore told the town’s communi- which can earn fortunes in an al- Cho said. though “confused” at that hour, he to spend months grooming vic- ty council on Thursday, Sept. 14. most-risk-free, almost-invisible She told the sorry tale of the replied “I will get back to you”— Nigeria: home of princes tims for a payday. And, just to avoid complacen- crime wave. 65-year-old professor who was but, smartly, went back to bed in- Photo courtesy of Reuters Criminologists will shortly cy, the genial officer introduced And while sexual predators, tricked into wiring such a con art- stead. “celebrate” the centennial of the an LAPD detective who revealed troublesome adolescents, and the ist $34,000 bail money when he Then there is the publish- claiming to represent tax collec- daddy of all these scams, the Ni- how this town is being targeted by random opportunism and drunk- had been “arrested” on his way to ing clearing house sweepstakes, tors demands instant settlement gerian prince. In 1920, the origi- a new generation of internet and en violence of the mentally disor- her home. where a “Tom Sawyer” sucked of an imagined debt. One victim, nal Nigerian scammer, writing to phone scam artists—because this ganized may always be with us, Next, the grandmother scam: $258,000 out of a bank account as Joan, an attorney, lost $160,000 targets in colonial Ghana, offered is where the money is. LAPD believes these scammers the early morning call from a “fees” in advance of a $1.5 mil- under this pressure. The IRS will juju spells for little return, sign- Only then did representatives are the future economic threat to young-sounding person to an lion prize. never demand such a settlement, ing his letters “P. Crentsil, Pro- on the Pacific Palisades Commu- Palisadian family fortunes. elderly “relative” also needing If the scammers are foreign, Cho said. fessor of Wonders.” nity Council, including worldly LAPD Detective Kristin Y. money for bail. they tend to adopt such “Amer- Richard Cohen, PPCC trea- As far as the fraudster is wise lawyers and hardheaded Cho told PPCC she is investigat- He or she is waiting for the ican-sounding names,” while surer, said wearily that he was concerned, as long as Palisadi- money people, realize how often ing an increasingly sophisticated “mark” to give away information homegrown fraudsters opt for the targeted like this at least weekly. ans leave their garage doors and they, too, are being targeted by array of telephone tricks and on- such as “Billy, is that you?” bland. Bogus IRS agents have check books open, wonders will these scammers—sometimes ev- line scams on the Westside. A thief calling himself “Si- In the IRS scam, a con man reaped $54 million since October never cease. New Bay Theatre Takes Shape Victory on PCH as ‘Scar Wall’ is Replaced in Palisades Village By MATTHEW MEYER cial Peter Jones told the Palisadi- he shape of movies to come is revealed in after the old Bay Theatre, is now visible on emerging over the three-story parking struc- Reporter an-Post that a long-term solution our latest drone shot over Rick Caruso’s Swarthmore Avenue on the right of the im- ture to the left. Caruso has joked that the the- for the troubled intersection is TPalisades Village project. The raw structure age, while some of the retail floor space, ater should open with the 1948 heart-warmer rivers rejoice: The “scar also in the design stages. of the five-screen Cinépolis, to be named which will cover 116,000 square feet, is “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Dwall” is dead. Traffic consultant, PPCC Photo courtesy of Chuck Larsen Photography A cluster of large, sand-filled member and long-time scar wall barrels known as “impact atten- critic Lou Kamer characterized uators” has replaced the dreaded the change as a step in the right metal safety barrier that repeat- direction. edly scraped and gouged vehi- “It’s great that Caltrans was cles as they made their way from able to replace the car-gashing Chautauqua Boulevard onto PCH barricade ‘cushion’ with huge, through a narrow merge lane. Minion-yellow ‘Big Sandy’ sand Victims filed claims with barrels. It’s a great temporary Caltrans—the agency respon- step until we redesign the inter- sible for the intersection—for section,” Kamer told the Post. thousands of dollars in damage, “Still, it’s important to re- but the state transportation au- member that the bright yellow thority had opted for continually barrels will still do damage. repairing the wall rather than re- To avoid [them], we need to placing it entirely. follow three key steps when pass- But on Saturday, Sept. 16 the ing ‘The Gauntlet’: agency finally swapped the wall Be alert, make a wider initial with barrels that, at least in the- turn from Chautauqua to PCH so ory, should not present the same you are lined up earlier, and take threat of damage to vehicles. it as slow as you need to feel safe Caltrans Public Affairs offi- and confident.” Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer ««««««««««««««««««« With white collar internet and phone crimes on the rise, the Palisadian-Post asked THIS WEEK iN VOICES FROM THE STREET locals if they have ever been targeted by a phone scammer. The consensus? Out of 10 Palisadians polled around town, eight had been recently targeted while the other two By GABRIELLA BOCK Reporter claimed they “weren’t sure” as they did not answer unknown telephone numbers. pali life When Sparks Fly: Photos by Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer (Page 13) ‘Iphigenia in Aulis’: Tragic, Bizarre, Riveting (Page 16) Deborah Burkhart Al Landry Lauren Polan and Phil Peck I typically get calls from peo- My wife and I get all kinds 16-year-old Buddy I get the calls all the time. I ple posing as Microsoft employ- of calls, but mainly from people I think I’ve once gotten about once traced a fake IRS call to up- ees—sometimes as many as three claiming to be with Geek Squad 20 calls in a single day, but typi- state New York. They’re every- calls a day. It has definitely gotten or Microsoft. The “Microsoft” cally it’s two or three. A lot of the where and unfortunately they end worse over the past five years. guys got me for $560 once—it calls come from fake IRS agents up preying upon the most vulner- stung badly. or fake builders who know that able people. I’m in real estate—it’s a night- mare. Page 2 Palisadian-Post September 21, 2017 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Palisadian-Post The Veterans’ Gardens This is in response to the letter by Abigail Smith appearing in the Sept. 14 edition concerning the Veterans’ Gardens project to renovate OUT OF THE PAST and revitalize the Upper Picnic Area of the Palisades Recreation Center. The $400,000 commitment to the Veterans’ Gardens project by December 16, 1982 2¢ Post 283 of the American Legion is a spectacular and generous match- 2¢ Getting Ahead—Doug Perry of Palisades High School leaps for a header in the Dol- Your Two Cents’ Worth ing grant. We are profoundly grateful to the members of Post 283 for phins 3-1 victory against Hamilton last Tuesday. Got something to say? Call supporting the beautification of our treasured park resource. The funds (310) 454-1321 or email 2cents@ will become available once an additional $200,000-plus has been raised palipost.com and get those kudos from the community. or concerns off your chest. Names It is important to understand that none of the open grassy area will not be used. where kids play sports is part of the project. Two-thirds of the project (including gardens, five new picnic venues and an area for a bouncy house) will be located amid the existing trees, and the balance of the project (three bocce courts and a fantastic group picnic area) will be Variety at the Farmers located where the dilapidated and unsightly concrete picnic tables are now found. Market Further, this project will honor all the men and women who defend The Palisades farmers mar- our country—those who served in the past, those currently serving and ket is indomitable.