SAN FRANCISCO, CA — If someone calls saying your family member in San Francisco County Jail can be released early for a fee, hang up. The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office and StopScams SF, the city’s anti-scam initiative, are jointly warning residents about a scam built to work on families who are already stretched thin.
Callers posing as deputies are telling relatives of people in custody that their loved one qualifies for an early release program, often blamed on jail overcrowding, and that the family must pay for an ankle monitor, court fee or processing charge to make it happen. The callers can be convincing: they may know the incarcerated person’s name and booking details, and they can spoof caller ID so the call appears to come from a real Sheriff’s Office phone number.
“Nobody from my office will ever call a family member and ask for money to release someone from custody,” said Sheriff Paul Miyamoto. “These callers are targeting people at their most vulnerable, and we want every family to know: do NOT give money, do not provide any personal information and call us immediately.”
Families with a loved one in jail are often already carrying more financial weight than they can bear. National research on the cost of incarceration found that nearly two in three families (65%) with an incarcerated family member are unable to meet their family’s basic needs.¹ That burden falls hardest on women: in 63% of cases, a family member on the outside is primarily responsible for court-related costs, and 83% of those family members are women.² Scammers are counting on that strain, betting that a family already stretched thin will do whatever it takes to bring a loved one home sooner.
This isn’t just a San Francisco problem. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office issued its own warning on July 6 after callers told families of people held at Santa Rita Jail that a loved one could be released early in exchange for payment for an electronic ankle monitor. Monterey County’s Sheriff’s Office issued a nearly identical warning in May. The pattern spans three counties, and San Francisco officials expect it will not be the last stop.
The Sheriff’s Office is coordinating with other Bay Area law enforcement agencies investigating this scam, and StopScams SF is working alongside the Sheriff’s Office to help shut it down. The scam alert is also being distributed directly to community organizations that work with families of incarcerated San Franciscans, along with guidance for identifying and avoiding the scam.
"Families like mine will do almost anything to bring a loved one home,” said Joanna Hernandez, San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project. “Scammers know that, and they're using it against us. This alert could save someone from losing money they don't have on a promise that was never real.”
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