VENTURA : Officials Warn of Newsletter Scam

Ventura police are asking for help in catching scam artists who recently posed as police and fire officials in an attempt to defraud the owner of a Mexican restaurant in a telephone solicitation scheme.

Rebeca Luna received a call earlier this month at her recently opened restaurant, El Taco de Mexico, from a man claiming to be a Ventura police officer. The man welcomed Luna to Ventura, then asked her to contribute money for a police newsletter. Despite his persistence, she refused, police said.

Several days later, Luna received a call from a different man claiming to be a firefighter. After welcoming her to the community, the man asked her to donate money to a firefighters’ publication. When she refused, he became abusive toward Luna and even threatened her, police said.

Luna called police and discovered that neither police nor firefighters had been involved in the telephone solicitation. Ventura authorities are concerned about the impostors, and are asking anyone who has received similar calls to call police.