Tucson Police Department issued the following announcement on Sept. 22.
The Tucson Police Department has recently seen an increase in community members being contacted by fraudsters pretending to be local law enforcement. They are convincing the victim to receive money and then send it out in the form of gift cards on behalf of the agency or business.
These fraudsters are using phone numbers that appear legitimate, but they are not. Remember, Caller ID can be easily spoofed. If you receive one of these calls, HANG UP. The fraudster is attempting to gather as much personal information to commit identity theft or convince you to make payments that are unnecessary.
To avoid becoming a victim of a telephone scam, please rememder to:
Be wary of answering phone calls from numbers you do not recognize.
Do not send money to anybody you do not personally know and trust.
Never give out personal information, including your Social Security Number, over the phone to individuals you do not know.
Most importantly, no legitimate law enforcement or government agency will EVER ask or demand payment from you over the phone.
Reporting / Resources
If you sent money to a fraudster, immediately contact the company you used to send the money (i.e. your bank, Western Union, ITunes, etc.) and alert them about the fraudulent transaction. They may not be able to get your money back, but it is important to alert them of fraud.
A person who has information of a phone scam should report that information to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC website provides a lot of information on current scams. Federal Trade Commission - Report a phone scam - https://www.reportfraud.ftc.gov.
If you've lost money or believe that a specific scam originated in the city limits of Tucson, you can make a report with the Tucson Police Department. This report can be made online at https://www.tucsonaz.gov/apps/crime-reporting or by calling our non-emergency number, 520-791-4444.
Original source can be found here.
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