Criminals are using the COVID-19 emergency to steal personal and medical information from people across the country, especially the most vulnerable, the elderly population.

Please be vigilant of scams that are attempting to steal your personal information and your money. You should not respond to unsolicited requests to conduct COVID-19 testing, obtain a COVID-19 vaccine, or provide your personal and medical information.

BEWARE OF COVID-19 VACCINE SCAMS:

• Be vigilant and protect yourself from potential fraud concerning COVID-19 vaccines. You will not be asked for money to enhance your ranking for vaccine eligibility. Government and State officials will not call you to obtain personal information in order to receive the vaccine, and you will not be solicited door to door to receive the vaccine.
• Beneficiaries should be cautious of unsolicited requests for their personal, medical, and financial information. Medicare will not call beneficiaries to offer COVID-19 related products, services, or benefit review.
• Be suspicious of any unexpected calls or visitors offering COVID-19 tests or supplies. If you receive a suspicious call, hang up immediately.
• Do not respond to, or open hyperlinks in, text messages or emails about COVID-19 from unknown individuals.
• Ignore offers or advertisements for COVID-19 testing or treatments on social media sites. If you make an appointment for a COVID-19 test online, make sure the location is an official testing site.
• Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone claiming to offer HHS grants related to COVID-19.
• Be aware of scammers pretending to be COVID-19 contact tracers. Legitimate contact tracers will never ask for your Medicare number, financial information, or attempt to set up a COVID-19 test for you and collect payment information for the test.
• If you believe you have been the victim of COVID-19 fraud, immediately report it to 1-800-HHS-TIPS or visit tips.hhs.gov.

• For official local COVID-19 vaccine information, visit SanDiegoCounty.gov.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan urges parents to be more aware of increased online dangers children face amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and urged parents to take steps to prevent young people from becoming victims of human trafficking. The DA also reminded survivors of human trafficking that there are important resources available to help them move forward with their lives. The warning comes during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which is held each January.

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The most common way victims are trafficked in San Diego County is online, through social media and gaming apps, an issue that is concerning especially now that children are spending more time than ever online due to school closures related to COVID-19. Reports of technology-based exploitation have tripled at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Local reports have also increased – in 2019, the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) received 3,058 cyber tips and in 2020 the numbers almost doubled to 5,885.

“Pre-pandemic, we could count on teachers and other school mandated reporters to notice some of the signs that a student is being abused at home or sexually exploited by a trafficker and to report to law enforcement,” said District Attorney Summer Stephan. “Now that children are stuck mostly at home, it’s up to the parents, guardians and responsible adults to help children understand the risks they may face online and make them feel comfortable reporting suspicious recruitment and enticement or victimization. There are tools to help parents and kids understand the threat from traffickers and abusers in order to prevent harm to our children.  The San Diego Trafficking Prevention Collective is a private-public partnership with the mission of protecting students by building knowledge has converted many resources on line at SanDiegoTPC.org,  and the San Diego Regional Human Trafficking Task Force has been working around the clock to safeguard our kids from human trafficking.”

The DA is also reminding survivors of human trafficking that there is now a legal path for them to clear their record. The San Diego DA’s Office worked with the Office of the Public Defender, legal services providers and the Courts to implement a criminal vacatur law, which is a new form of post-conviction relief that allows human trafficking survivors to clear non-violent criminal charges related to their exploitation. The vacatur law is codified under California Penal Code 236.14, and since it went into effect, the San Diego Superior Court has granted 15 vacatur petitions, creating new life paths for human trafficking survivors.

“Having a criminal record is a huge barrier for human trafficking survivors to move forward with their lives and get a fresh start,” said District Attorney Summer Stephan. “These survivors have trouble getting jobs, securing housing and completing their education which makes them a target for further exploitation. We want victims and survivors to know that we have created a trauma informed system in San Diego County working with the Public Defender and organizations like Free To Thrive to streamline their vacatur petitions and fairly and expeditiously handle them.”

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, online predators have unprecedented access to kids through everyday scrolling on new apps, social media, online gaming and distance learning. With so much dependence on technology and the web, children are increasingly at risk of befriending strangers online.

“Due to COVID-19 causing our children to attend school virtually and engage socially online, it is more important than ever for parents to vigilantly review their children’s computer and cellular phone activities,” said Sergeant Garrick Nugent from ICAC. “To a child or teenager, connecting with someone through social networks, games, or messaging becomes as real as any other relationship, even though they have never met in person – to the point they call the online persona their boyfriend, girlfriend or best friend. Parents need to realize how important this relationship is to their child and must take steps to both understand this and stay involved in their child’s internet activity, including texting, messaging apps, games and social networks.”

Based on the investigative work conducted by the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, traffickers are commonly using various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, to locate, communicate and recruit potential victims of human trafficking.

“Most of the time, traffickers will create a profile that depicts a life of luxury,” said Commander Geanie Franco of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force. “They will have pictures of themselves with large amounts of cash, jewelry, and other high valued merchandise. Traffickers will then target vulnerable victims, typically by direct message, and begin to recruit them by promising to better their life by increasing their social economic standing and/or build a meaningful intimate relationship with them. Once the trafficker gains the trust of the potential victim, they will then turn that trust against them and exploit them for the trafficker’s own financial gain. Occasionally, traffickers will ask potential victims to send them sexually explicit photos of themselves through social media for the trafficker to use to post online prostitution advertisements.”

Red flags and behavior by children that parents should be taken seriously include:

• Secretive behavior with online activities.
• Hiding what is on their computer screens.
• Out of sight or behind a closed door when online.
• Vague talk of making new friends with little to no details.
• Agitated behavior when answering their phone or needing to take calls in private.
• Sneaking out of the house or being untruthful about who they are with and where they have been.
• Attempting to look older with clothing or makeup.
• Unexplained expensive gifts, money or clothing.

What can parents and guardians do to keep their children safe?

• Review and approve games and apps before they are downloaded.
• Make sure privacy settings are set to the strictest level possible for online gaming systems, phones and other devices.
• Monitor your child’s use of the Internet and keep computers in a non-private room.
• Explain that images posted online most likely will remain on the internet permanently. You’re in control before you press “send” – but once you press send, you’re not.
• Teach your child about personal boundaries and awareness of their surroundings.
• Encourage open child-parent communication around Internet safety. Encourage them to tell a trusted adult if something does not feel right.

To report an online exploitation type crime against an unknown child, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. To report a crime against your child, involving the internet or other electronical means, please contact your local law enforcement agency. If you have questions about Internet Crimes Against Children, prevention or suspicions, please contact the SDICAC Task Force at 858-715-7100.If you suspect human trafficking, you can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888 or text “HELP” or “INFO” to BEFREE (233733).

If you or someone you know is a survivor of human trafficking and would like help clearing their record of non-violent crimes related to their exploitation, you can contact Free To Thrive at (619) 693-6391 or the Public Defender’s Office Fresh Start Program via email at Fresh.Start@sdcounty.ca.gov.

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As our world becomes more dependent on technology and the web, especially now with distance learning due to COVID-19, children are increasingly at risk of befriending strangers online.

Educators often act as law enforcement’s eyes and ears, noticing some of the signs that a student is being abused at home or sexually exploited by a trafficker.

Just because kids are not physically in school during this COVID-19 crisis, does not mean they aren’t at risk of being recruited into the dangerous world of human trafficking.

Now that students are all spending more time online, they are a captive audience for would-be traffickers making contact on social media, which means we have to expand our efforts to educate them to prevent them from falling victim to predators.

Our concern is that students are more susceptible than ever to sexual exploitation because teachers and school staff aren’t able to make the same observations as they would in person.

In fact, reports of technology-based exploitation have tripled to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is hard to communicate with kids on sex/abuse topics but it is worth the effort to educate and protect kids.

Signs are not always present but they often are if parents/guardians know what to look for.

What are Potential signs that your child may not be safe online?

These red flags are common with some adolescents that should be taken seriously:

• Their teenager or child may be acting secretive of their online activities
• Hiding what is on their computer screens
• Out of sight or behind a closed door when online
• Vague talk of making new friends with little to no details
• Agitated behavior when answering their phone or needing to take calls in private
• Sneaking out of the house and/or untruthful about who with/where
• Dressing/wearing make-up to look older
• They get home late
• Unexplained expensive gifts/money/clothes

What can parents/guardians do to protect children online?

Parents/guardians are also on the frontlines when it comes to all forms of child abuse and exploitation, whether online or in person – children and adolescents often do not feel vulnerable or understand and appreciate what risks they may face form online or in person victimization.

Parents must communicate with children and teach them trust but at the same time know what their children are doing online and who they are communicating both online and in person.

FBI Recommendations to Parents:

• Review and approve games and apps before they are downloaded.
• Make sure privacy settings are set to the strictest level possible for social media, online gaming systems, phones and other devices.
• Monitor your child’s use of the internet and keep computers in a non-private room.
• Explain to your child that images posted online most likely will remain on the internet permanently.
• Teach your child about personal boundaries and awareness of their surroundings.
• Encourage open child-parent communication around internet safety.

For more information and tips visit SanDiegoDA.com.

District Attorney Summer Stephan today announced criminal charges against nine defendants who made fraudulent claims, scammed the state’s unemployment benefit system and received more than $160,000 in illegal payments. The fraud occurred between June and September of last year. The defendants lied about their eligibility and addresses on their EDD application forms, and also violated state prison rules about applying for public aid. [TWEET THIS]

All of the inmates were assigned to a program in San Diego that allows qualified state prison inmates to serve the final months of their sentences in a halfway house setting. The Male Community Reentry Program (MCRP) requires that inmates adhere to rules of the program, including the requirement they not apply for or collect any public aid, including EDD and unemployment funds.

“These inmates were not only breaking the rules and gaming the system, they added insult to injury for families relying on legitimate unemployment benefits to make ends meet during the ongoing pandemic,” DA Summer Stephan said. “While this CDCR investigation and our subsequent prosecution reveal a significant scam, we believe the amount of fraud committed by inmates in San Diego County could total as much as $5 million and we have just begun to hold these, and other inmates accountable for their crimes.”

The defendants are Ronald Davenport, 28; Zachary Frost, 31; Larry Van Johnson, 51; Daniel Eric Kisner, 42; Paul Ryan Owens, 41; Louis Terrell Bannister, 31; Erik Mikeal Nemec, 32; Roberto Ochoa, 27; and Javion Wallace, 26.  Each are charged with Conspiracy, Grand Theft, and Making False Statements for Unemployment Benefits. If convicted of all the charges, each defendant faces up to three years and eight months in prison.

Eight defendants have been arrested on the new charges, four of which remain in custody at RJ Donovan Correctional Facility. Arrest warrants have been issued for the remaining defendant. At present, four defendants are scheduled for arraignment on May 20, 2021.

CDCR MCRP-SD Supervisor and Agents assigned to the MCRP-SD investigated inmates receiving luxury items from Amazon, as well as food deliveries from restaurants. Inmates had downloaded mobile banking applications on their cell phones which revealed they each had access to large amounts of money. None of the inmates were employed. Some inmates were even electronically transferring money to one another. CDCR special agents assigned to the Special Service Unit and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested all persons involved.

“This operation is the result of collaboration with partner agencies at the local and state level, and solid investigative work by our staff,” said Kathleen Allison, Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “Defrauding hard working Californians of their benefits is not, and will not be, tolerated on any level. We will continue to ensure we are doing everything we can to hold those responsible accountable.”

In mid-November 2020, CDCR Investigators concluded their fraud investigation and determined that each inmate had been receiving verified EDD funds fraudulently. Each conspired with and assisted numerous other incarcerated persons to fraudulently gain access to EDD funds totaling $166,132.

“These despicable acts of fraud divert attention and resources away from providing assistance to those who really need it to manage through this catastrophic pandemic,” said Rita Saenz, Director of the California Employment Development Department. “We will continue to remain vigilant against fraud and are truly thankful for the combined resources and collaboration between agencies to investigate and prosecute those responsible.”

Last month, DA Stephan joined eight other District attorneys on a joint letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, warning the problem of EDD fraud problem could “grow exponentially.” Among their requests, the letter asked for legislation that would allow future cross-matching of data between correctional facilities and the Employment Development Department (EDD). Officials estimate jail and prison inmates have fraudulently collected unemployment benefits that appear to have cost California taxpayers at least $400 million. [TWEET THIS]

When COVID-19 and social distancing threatened to interfere with plans to provide crime prevention and social media awareness skills to teens and their families, the curriculum was quickly transformed to an online platform, drawing students from San Ysidro to Poway. [TWEET THIS]

Families in Motion is a four-week outreach and training program offered to teen students and their parents by the District Attorney’s Office and the San Diego Police Department. Topics include issues confronting teens today such as dealing with COVID-19, navigating social media and preventing drug use, gang activity and human trafficking.

“Preventing young people from becoming victims or perpetrators of crime is an important priority for my office, especially with schools closed,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “Families in Motion builds resilience and also offers a restorative path for youth who may already be engaged in unhealthy or risky criminal behavior.”

The current program, which is an offshoot of the San Diego Police Department’s program that ran from 2015 to 2017, runs for two hours a week for four weeks. Students hear from DA Community Partnership Prosecutors, mental health professionals and law enforcement partners. Each session begins with a check-in, in which students share how they are feeling and why. The session then turns to the educational piece where teens and parents learn from various experts.

During the first session, teens and parents learned about mental health, coping skills, and community resources available to families during the pandemic. They also learned about the impact of social media on mental health. Students and their parents also participate in polls and discuss how teens can make better decisions when confronted with difficult scenarios.

Following the session involving human trafficking, one student said it was eye opening.

“It has helped me to better understand how children become victims of exploitation and human trafficking,” Mario Morales said. “I don’t want that to happen to me or anyone in my family and I now know better how to prevent us from becoming victims.”

Classes are limited to 25 students to encourage participation and bonding. The response has been overwhelming and a wait list has already been established for those interested in participating in future sessions.

“It’s more important than ever to connect with our youth and their parents and offer services that can help them better handle issues they are facing,” DA Stephan said. “When young people have skills to make good choices and access to basic needs, they are less likely to end up in the criminal justice system. A special thanks to Community Partnership Prosecutors Cheryl Sueing-Jones and Marissa Bejarano who identified this gap and are leading this innovative program.”

The Fall 2020 virtual program was through MS Teams and it starts on September 22 and continues every Tuesday through October 20.

The Winter 2021 virtual program will be through MS Teams and it starts on February 2, 2021 and continues every Tuesday evening for five weeks, 5:30pm-7:30pm. If you are interested, you can register here.

Participants receive a certificate at the end of the course the program serves as community service credits to those who are eligible. The next course will begin at the end of September. Those interested can contact Community Partnership Prosecutors Marissa Bejarano or Cheryl Sueing-Jones. [TWEET THIS]