Alert Napa Valley Woman Averts Phone Scam

Napa County Sheriff's Office said a Napa Valley resident acted wisely Thursday in the face of a phone scam, and urged other residents to follow her lead.

"This story has a happy ending," said Sheriff's Capt. Leroy Anderson on Friday. "We would like to share it."

Anderson said the incident began Thursday, just after 2 p.m., when a 77-year-old Angwin resident received a phone call at her home.  The male caller did not give his name, but told her he was with Wells Fargo Bank and he needed her account information to confirm a transaction. 

The woman was suspicious, and asked the caller his name and the department he worked in, Anderson said.  He would not give that information, and continued to ask for her account information. 

She refused to give him the information, and he began to yell at her demanding the information.  She hung-up on the caller and called Customer Assistance at Wells Fargo Bank.

They told her that the bank would never call their customers and ask for account information, and the caller was not a Wells Fargo Bank employee.  She then called her phone service provider and learned that the call had come from a blocked number.  She then called the Napa Sheriff’s Office to report the incident.

"The Sheriff’s Office commends the woman in this case for making all the right decisions, and wants to remind the residents of Napa County to never give out personal or banking account information to unknown callers," Anderson said.

"Always err on the side of caution and call the business or bank directly to determine the legitimacy of the caller, and call Law Enforcement to report any attempted scammer, he added.

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