Scammers impersonate city government because residents trust it. San Francisco is using that same trust to fight back.
Posted July 7, 2026
San Francisco - Jonah “Jojo” Raskin knew something was wrong. The retired Sonoma State professor received an email from a payment app that he used regularly. He called the number. A man named Harry answered. Harry coached Raskin on exactly what to say to the bank teller. By the time it was over, Raskin had walked out of his bank with $20,000 in cash and handed it to a stranger in a courtyard.
When it was over, a family member questioned his cognitive abilities. Raskin pushed back.
“This is not about cognitive decline,” Raskin said. “There is a very sophisticated network preying on people.”
He lost tens of thousands of dollars, and he had nowhere to turn. Now, San Francisco is building something he never had: a place to turn before, during, and after a scam.
Mayor Daniel Lurie and Treasurer José Cisneros today launched StopScams SF, the nation's first comprehensive, city-led strategy to protect residents from scams before they happen and support them when they do. StopScams SF combines free financial counseling for anyone who has been scammed, real-time alerts as new scams emerge, and reforms to make it easier for every San Franciscan to tell a real government payment request from a fake one.
“Across the country, millions of people are targeted by scams every year. I am proud that San Francisco will become the first city in the country to build a coordinated response to scams,” said Mayor Lurie. “This program creates a unified, citywide infrastructure that combines financial counseling, public alert systems, and communication reforms under a single program. It is designed to protect residents from scams before they happen and support them when they do. This is how we look out for our seniors, our young people, and all San Franciscans.”
The scale of the problem is staggering. The Federal Trade Commission reports that Americans lost $158 billion to fraud last year, with reported losses jumping 25 percent in 2024 alone.¹ Government impersonation scams, where fraudsters pose as city agencies to demand payment for fake parking tickets, utility shutoffs, or permit fees, surged 87 percent in 2025, according to the FBI.² Adults 60 and older reported losing nearly $2.4 billion to fraud in 2024, up from about $600 million in 2020, roughly a four-fold increase in four years.³
Scams hit every generation, but not equally. Young adults report being scammed more often than any other age group. But when seniors are scammed, they lose the most money. In San Francisco, those two groups, along with immigrants, bear the heaviest burden, targeted most often and recovering least. Until now, the City’s response has been fragmented, with police, prosecutors, and 311 operators each fighting scams separately. StopScams SF is the first attempt to pull that response together.⁴
"San Franciscans deserve a coordinated strategic response to scams. For twenty years, this office has worked to build systems that protect San Franciscans from predatory financial practices,” said Treasurer José Cisneros. “Scammers who impersonate city government are among the most cynical of those predators. They use the public's trust in their city against them. A resident faced with a potential scam should be able to call one number, get real help, and know exactly how to tell a real City payment request from a fake one. StopScams SF is how we get there."
“At a time when so many are struggling to get by, losing money to a scam can be catastrophic,” said City Attorney David Chiu. “The money someone needs for rent, groceries, and transportation can be lost in an instant. StopScamsSF will bring new resources to this fight and help San Franciscans keep their hard-earned money. The City Attorney’s Office is excited to continue our partnership with the Treasurer’s Economic Justice Center to hold sophisticated, repeat scammers accountable.”
Funded by a three-year, $3 million grant from JPMorganChase, StopScams SF will use six integrated strategies to protect San Franciscans:
Support for scam victims: free, one-on-one financial counseling is available now for anyone who has been scammed. Trained counselors sit down with clients to review their situation, dispute credit errors, navigate debt, and help them understand their options and rights. The service is free to anyone who lives, works, or receives services in San Francisco, and is available in multiple languages;
Public warnings and alerts: a multilingual public communications campaign delivering scam warnings through trusted channels;
Scam monitoring: scanning social media, 311 calls, and local platforms to detect trending scams and trigger real-time alerts through media and community partners;
Stronger civic infrastructure: scam-proofing City websites and communications and launching a Payment Verification Directory so residents can confirm any payment request is legitimate;
Policy reform: advancing local and statewide changes that close loopholes, strengthen protections, and reduce scam risk before it starts; and
A StopScams Playbook to share tools, alert templates, and training modules with peer cities nationwide.
Most scam victims never report what happened to them. A Gallup survey conducted with the Stop Scams Alliance found that among people scammed last year, 75 percent did not report because they thought it would not make a difference in getting their money back, and 58 percent were not sure where to turn.⁵ Nationally, about one in ten households lost money to scams in 2025 alone.⁵ In San Francisco, where roughly 350,000 households live, that suggests tens of thousands of families were hit last year without anywhere to go.⁶ The toll goes well beyond people’s bank accounts: nearly three in four scam victims (73%) report that the scam had a negative impact on their mental health or wellbeing.⁷
“When someone comes in after being scammed, the financial loss is real, but so is the shame. People blame themselves,” said San Francisco Financial Counselor John Luna. “My job is to help them see this was not a failure of judgment. It was a crime committed against them. And then we get to work on what comes next. There is always a next step.”
StopScams SF is one of seven initiatives supported through JPMorganChase's nearly $14 million in philanthropic investments to combat scams nationally, part of the firm's broader commitment to building safer, more resilient communities across the country. The program launches as the newest initiative of the Economic Justice Center, which turns the powers of the Treasurer's Office into tools that help San Franciscans build savings, reduce debt, and keep more of what they earn.
“Scams are robbing Americans of hard-earned savings, adding stress to everyday life, and eroding confidence in the institutions we rely on. We all have a role to play in stopping them. That’s why JPMorganChase is proud to support StopScamsSF, the City’s comprehensive, community-led approach to protecting residents,” said Arabah Woodberry, Community Director for the Pacific Northwest, JPMorganChase. “San Francisco is leading by example—bringing together the tools, trust, and partnerships needed to prevent scams, especially in communities that are most often targeted. I see how our Chase Community Managers connect individuals and families to trusted guidance and resources in neighborhoods across the country. StopScamsSF brings that same on-the-ground presence from local government, and together we can help more San Franciscans protect what they’ve worked so hard to build.”
Congress has introduced the National Strategy for Combating Scams Act, but no federal framework exists yet. San Francisco is the first city in the country to build a coordinated, city-led anti-scam infrastructure, combining financial counseling, public alert systems, and communications reform under a single program. StopScams SF demonstrates what governments can do right now, without waiting for federal action, by using existing infrastructure and the unique trust that local government holds in the communities it serves.
Scam reporting resources, alert signups, and free counseling are available at treasurer.sf.gov/economicjustice/stopscamssf.
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Sources
¹ FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024, released March 2025. The $158 billion figure reflects FTC methodology extrapolating for underreporting; the directly reported figure for 2024 is $12.5 billion, a 25 percent increase over 2023. ftc.gov/reports/consumer-sentinel-network-data-book-2024
² FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center 2025 Annual Report, released April 2026. ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2025_IC3Report.pdf
³ Federal Trade Commission, Protecting Older Consumers 2024–2025: A Report of the Federal Trade Commission, December 2025. Reported fraud losses by adults 60 and older rose from about $600 million in 2020 to nearly $2.4 billion in 2024. Accounting for underreporting, the true cost of fraud to older adults in 2024 was between $10.1 billion and $81.5 billion. ftc.gov/reports/protecting-older-consumers-2024-2025-report-federal-trade-commission
⁴ FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024; FBI IC3 2024 Annual Report.
⁵ Gallup/Stop Scams Alliance survey, conducted in partnership with AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, released June 25, 2026. Reported by Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, Associated Press.
⁶ Derived estimate. Applies Gallup/Stop Scams Alliance finding of approximately 1 in 10 households experiencing scam losses in 2025 to U.S. Census Bureau estimate of approximately 350,000 households in San Francisco County. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates.
⁷Gallup/Stop Scams Alliance survey, United States of Scams: The Financial and Emotional Fallout, released June 30, 2026. Reported by Andrea Malek Ash, Gallup. news.gallup.com/poll/710984/scam-victims-report-billions-lost-harm-mental-health.aspx