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Scammer promises $7K in federal grant funds
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It was an offer of $7,000 in federal grant money that one Manteca man couldn’t believe on Monday after receiving a telephone call from Washington, D.C.  He thought it might be a scam.

The man reported to the Bulletin that a woman who called him promised the monies would be wired via Western Union after he first sent a donation of $250 to her East Coast address.

A call to the number that had been logged on the man’s telephone by a Bulletin reporter got only a busy signal after several attempts were made to the 202 area code listing.

One Manteca bank customer service manager said they had a customer recently complain of a similar phone call and an offer of federal grant money at their residence.

Manteca Police Sergeant Jodie Estarziau advised citizens to be cautious about scams that may be addressed to them by phone, in person, or online during the holiday season. 

One such scam that has victimized area residents in the past several years is that of a caller purporting that a family member – often a grandson – is in jail in another country pleading for help to bail him out of custody.  The bond has usually been in the neighborhood of $2,000. The scam targets grandparents using a crying person claiming to be that special grandson.