Business News
Edited by Jeb Bing, jbing@pleasantonweekly.com
Common financial scams continue targeting seniors
Valley Community Bank sold to Daly City’s FNB Bancorp
BY GARY ALT
Downtown Pleasanton bank to become part of $1 billion institution Daly City-based FNB Bancorp is acquiring Valley Community Bank in a deal that will create a $1 billion financial institution serving San Francisco, the Peninsula and now San Jose and the East Bay. Valley Community Bank, started in 1998 and always led by Richard Loupe, its CEO and president, has expanded from its 465 Main St. bank to Livermore and San Jose, moving its headquarters several years ago to 5000 Pleasanton Ave., across from the Fairgrounds. One of the last small, independently owned banks in Pleasanton, it has encountered troubling times, including loan portfolio challenges in 2010 in the midst of a deteriorating economy. Since then, Valley has recovered and the acquisition by FNB, the parent of First National Bank of Northern California, will lead to combined assets of $1.04 billion with combined deposits of $894 million, according to Tom McGraw, chief executive of FNB Bancorp who will also head the newly-constituted bank. Once the acquisition is finalized in the third quarter of this year, it’s likely the FNB name will go on the doors of Valley’s branches. Valley’s headquarters could be merged into FNB’s Daly City location. Both FNB and Valley Community banks had similar beginnings. FNB opened in 1963 as the First National Bank of Daly City, started by a group of six local businessmen who felt Daly City needed its own bank. In Pleasanton, Loupe also launched Valley Commu-
JEB BING
Valley Community Bank on Main Street.
nity Bank by soliciting investments from local business leaders in an effort to provide customers with an independent bank that was not a branch of a larger financial corporation. Now, with the combined banking operation, both will be part of the same large corporate bank serving much of the Bay Area. In addition to multiple Peninsula, San Francisco, San Jose and East Bay locations, FNB also has branches in Pacifica, Half Moon Bay and Pescadero. N — Jeb Bing
A friend of mine in Pleasanton, “Rhonda” (a pseudonym to protect my friend’s identity), called me to her home last month to discuss a troubling family matter. Rhonda’s grandson called her, frantic, just as he was being arrested after being involved in a serious car accident. Crying hysterically, he asked her to bail him out of jail. He only had a few seconds to speak to her before the police officer got on the phone, explaining to her that he couldn’t disclose any details on her grandson’s arrest because he had a “gag order.” Her grandson wasn’t drinking, he said, but one of the passengers in the other car was seriously injured. He was kind enough to provide a telephone number to call so she could post bail to free her loving grandson from his terrible predicament. After we discussed the matter, we concluded that it was a financial scam and she ignored it. This is the second time I’ve seen the “grandson in jail” scam targeting someone I know. Another time I saw this happen, the story was that their grandson was in jail
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Page 8ÊUÊJune 13, 2014 UÊPleasanton Weekly
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in Mexico. Now there’s a thought that’ll strike fear in any grandparent. In another common financial scam, the caller pretends to be an IRS agent, and even has the intended victim’s last four digits of their Social Security number. The caller then threatens arrest, deportation or revocation of a driver’s license unless the victims immediately pay their overdue tax bill. In some cases, they use technology so the official IRS phone number shows up on your caller ID. According to Pleasanton Police Detective Jonathan Chin, “scammers target the elderly because they know that seniors have a soft heart.” He said in some cases people called the police department after they’ve lost tens of thousands of dollars. If you get a phone call demanding money, pay attention to a few clues that are common patterns in financial fraud. Whether you’re contacted by phone or email, here’s what to watch for: UÊ/ iÊÃÌ ÀÞÊ Û ÛiÃÊ>ÊÃiÀ ÕÃÊ ÃÃÕi]Ê such as legal trouble, a medical emergency of a family member or
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