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Placer County Sheriff's Office (PCSO)
Loomis Office
6140 Horseshoe Bar Road, Suite D
Loomis, CA 95650
916-652-2400 (Non-Emergency)
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UPDATE FROM PCSO
Safer Internet Day, and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office would like to educate both parents and children about the dangers lurking behind the screen.
Social media already plays a significant role in many lives across the world, and COVID-19 has increased that dependency by enabling children to learn remotely at home using laptops, tablets, etc. Online predators hide behind social media accounts on many popular platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, and Google+; there are also lesser-known apps including WhatsApp, Discord, KiK, and Twitch. As many as 500,000 predators on the internet pose a threat to kids on a daily basis; children between the ages of 12 and 15 are the most targeted by online predators.
We advise parents to use monitoring software to track their child’s online activities, and to block potentially harmful content, in addition to the following:
- Encouraging the use of electronic communication devices (phones, tablets, computers, gaming consoles, and streaming devices such as smart TV’s) in common areas of the household.
-Setting parameters on how much online activity children may participate in, and having an online curfew to prevent late-night activity.
-Using parental controls on devices to limit harmful content, especially with chat, call or video chat features with strangers.
Below are some signs to help parents identify whether their children may have been unknowingly in contact with online predators:
- Your child is spending hours online, especially at night.
- Your household is receiving phone calls from people you don't know.
- Unsolicited gifts are arriving in the mail.
-Your child suddenly turns the computer off when you walk into the room.
-Your child withdraws from family life and is reluctant to discuss online activities.
NetSmartzKids.org is a great resource for parents regarding online hazards. The website is run by the National Institute for Missing and Exploited Children and has age-specific education for kids on topics including cyberbullying, gaming, online enticement, social media, live streaming, smartphones, and sexting/sextortion. If you suspect your child is talking to an online predator, please call the Placer County Sheriff’s Office at (530) 886-5375, or your local law enforcement agency to file a report. You can also call the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children to file a report: (800) 843-5678.
We have recently become aware of new phone scams circulating around Placer County in which the caller(s) are impersonating (now retired) Lt. Andrew Scott and (former) Deputy Clark. It’s unclear what the scammer(s) are asking for, but we have publicized warnings to the community over the past several years about law enforcement impersonators calling victims and asking them for money in lieu of an arrest warrant. If you have been financially victimized by a scammer, please contact our dispatch center to file a report: (530) 886-5375
or file a report online: https://www.placer.ca.gov/2298/Online-Crime-Reporting.
REMINDER: No law enforcement agency in the U.S. will call a citizen and ask for money, especially in the form of gift cards. It’s ok to hang up to verify who you’re speaking with using your own research, and please remember to NEVER give any personal information over the phone.
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Placer County Fire Department - CAL FIRE
Station 100
8350 Cook Riolo Road
Roseville, CA 95747
(916) 771-0107 (Non-Emergency)
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