Napa residents warned to watch out for quake scams

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- It's been just more than a month since the 6.0 Napa earthquake hit and now, the first scams are beginning to surface. Authorities warned it would happen and so did 7 On Your Side's Michael Finney.

There is a new warning about callers offering federal grants. So far, the federal government has not offered assistance to individual homeowners. But that hasn't stopped scammers from posing as federal aid workers.

"Just, pretty much a disaster. Like I said, we've been trying to clean for about an hour now," said Napa resident Mike Law.

Law took cell phone video shot inside his Napa home shortly after the big jolt rocked him out of bed.

"My girlfriend was just screaming, 'earthquake, earthquake.' Like I said, I just rolled on top of her and just told her to hold still," said Law.

The quake sent a large fish tank crashing to the living room floor. He said glass was everywhere.

Law, later learned his renters insurance would not cover any earthquake damage. So, when someone phoned him to say he had been awarded a federal grant to make thousands of dollars in repairs, he was elated.

"I just got a little excited when I heard that because, I mean, $7,000 would come in really handy with a lot of stuff that has to be replaced," he said.

But it was a scam.

Law was instructed to go to a convenience store and purchase a prepaid debit card. The scammers told him to read them the account number on the back of the card and to confirm his identification because he would need an ID to use it.

But, once he gave them the number, they immediately withdrew the $310 he put on the card.

"I just felt really burned you know? I mean, and I felt pretty stupid for allowing that to happen to myself," he said.

It's similar to a scam prison inmates from around the country are operating. The Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force isn't naming the prisons involved.

"I have no reason to believe why it's, would only be conducted out of one state or, you know, one or couple prisons," said John George with the Northern California Computer Crime Task Force

Over the summer inmates posing as sheriff's deputies on the phone, threatened to arrest people from the North Bay if they didn't pay a fine for failing to appear for jury duty.

Just like with the quake scam, victims were instructed to purchase pre-paid debit cards.

"They were just very convincing. Very reassuring; letting me know that, 'hey we're here to help you,' and blah, blah, blah," said Law.

Authorities say it's too early to tell if the quake scam is related to the jury scam from this past summer. Nonetheless, people should always be cautious when using prepaid debit cards.

"Never give the pin numbers that's on the back or the card number on the front. Never give those numbers to somebody that you don't know," said George.

Authorities say, so far, they haven't received a lot of complaints from people who've been scammed after the quake. But, if you've been victimized, report it to your local police or sheriff.