This year, Lunar New Year will be filled with firecrackers, feasts and scams.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and other law enforcement officials warned about particular scams targeting senior citizens and non-English speakers, including offenders conning people out of “thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry,” during an annual New Year’s briefing last week, SFBay.ca reported.
Two specific ones Breed named are fake “blessing” and jewelry scams. The former is an ongoing issue in the area. Scammers will convince their victim — usually an elderly, non-English speaking Chinese woman — that a loved one is in danger. In order to “help,” they then offer to perform a blessing ceremony to dispel evils spirits, in which the victim is encouraged to bring a bag full of valuables in exchange. The bag is then swapped with useless items.
The con, also known as a “ghost scam,” typically involves two people: one who engages the victim in a casual conversation, and another who “happens” to overhear and offers advice. The con artists ingratiate themselves to their victims by speaking their language. They rely on the victims’ values such as filial piety and not keeping money in banks. After victims are fooled, they are often too ashamed to go to the police.
“Be aware when strangers ask for money,” said Police Chief Bill Scott during the briefing. “Don’t follow strangers anywhere. Particularly, don’t bring a stranger into your home.”
Scott added that non-English speakers shouldn’t be afraid of reporting crimes local to officers, who are equipped with translation apps.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin of District 3 said the city’s district attorney is “absolutely committed” to ending blessing scams, and that they have decreased in the past 20 years. The scam cost victims over $1.5 million in 2013.
Supervisors Norman Yee, Aaron Peskin and Shamann Walton also took part in the city’s Lunar New year Crime Prevention and Safety Awareness campaign.
This year, Lunar New Year (the Year of the Rat) begins Jan. 25 and lasts until Feb 4.
Highlighting the city’s Lunar New Year celebration will be the Chinese New Year Parade on Feb. 8. Other special events planned to count down to the new year include the Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair and the Miss Chinatown USA Pageant, according to the San Francisco Examiner.
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