Victim loses hundreds in phone scam

South San Francisco police are warning residents about a scam involving suspects claiming to be federal prosecutors and demanding money to clear criminal charges.

Police said a South San Francisco resident received a call on Tuesday from a man claiming he was a federal prosecutor from the state Attorney General’s Office.

The victim told investigators the man told him he had three pending charges and needed to wire several hundred dollars to him in order to clear the charges.

Police said the victim thought he was really in trouble, so he obtained the money and sent it to the suspect via Green Dot MoneyPak pre-paid card.

The victim told police he received another call from the suspect demanding more money, but the victim refused and then contacted police.