Tulare Police Department investigating scam targeting students on social media

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Tulare Police Department is warning of a scam targeting students on social media.

Crooks are targeting teens on social media taking advantage of a familiar face.

"It's pretty frustrating to see how easily our youth get preyed on," says Tulare Police Sgt. Rosa Moreno.

The new scam targets teens and it has the department on high alert.

Recently, they received reports of fake profiles reaching out to local high-school students.

Moreno says scammers use pictures of classmates they may recognize.

"They target a specific juvenile and say, 'Hey, I have a school project, I would like to pay you for this school project. However, I'm gonna need your banking information in order to pay you for the services," explained Moreno.

Once the information is handed over, accounts appear to be wiped out.

"We have to remember a lot of these kids are starting their lives, they are trying to figure out how banking works. They work jobs and they are depositing the small amount of money that they are making to try to be a responsible adult and then somebody preys on that. So, it's definitely frustrating, especially because as an investigator it's very difficult to investigate these crimes," explained Moreno.

Most of these crimes go unsolved.

IP addresses usually lead back to public Wi-Fi locations.

Bank accounts are closed after money is transferred and emails are sometimes untraceable.

That's why communication with your teen is critical.

"I have a 15-year-old nephew, and when I was 15, I didn't have to deal with this. I didn't have people reaching out to me trying to scam me for my bank account information, so I'm gonna try to inform him and let him know, 'Yeah, you might just meet all these people online, whether it's games or Instagram, but don't give out your personal information doesn't just give it freely because people will take advantage of that," said Alex Armas, a Tulare Resident.

Armas also mentioned it's important to be mindful of what you post online

"Staying vigilant with your bank accounts and looking for those transactions that look suspicious and if you do find them notifying your financial institution is probably the best thing that you can do," Moreno added.

If you or someone you know might have been a victim of an online scam in the past year, it's not too late to make a report; you just want to contact your local police department.

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