Livermore man scammed out of $1.1 million

Police in Livermore are investigating a series of scams that have tricked victims into giving away large amounts of money. In one case, a man lost $1.1 million after falling for a phone scam. The scam began when a woman, posing as a government official, told the victim that his social security number had been compromised. She claimed it was linked to a child pornography investigation. To protect himself, the man drained his savings and bought gold bars with his life savings and 401k. He then handed the gold to a courier, expecting further instructions from the scammer, which never came. In another case, a man was convinced that his grandson had been in a serious car accident. He thought his grandson had hurt a pregnant woman and began to withdraw $12,000 for legal fees. Fortunately, he contacted his son and learned that no accident had occurred. Authorities managed to speak to the scammer in the second case, who claimed to be a public defender. However, as soon as the scammer realized they were speaking to police, he ended the call. So far, no arrests have been made related to these scams.