We recently received several reports where people have been contacted by phone or text message from someone pretending to be law enforcement. These impersonators will often spoof legitimate law enforcement phone numbers or provide actual names and badge numbers for officers. A RED FLAG is that the person advises you have committed some crime and there is either a warrant or will be a warrant for your arrest unless you pay them a specific sum of money. They may also ask you to confirm personal information.
If you receive one of these calls, HANG UP. No legitimate law enforcement agency will make an unsolicited call and attempt to gather your personal information and/or request you to make payments or send money via untraceable means for any reason. The most common ways they request money is through cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, and person to person pay (P2P) (i.e., Venmo, Zelle, etc.).
If you are unsure if the call is legitimate, you can contact the law enforcement agency directly with a number you look up, talk to a trusted family member, or friend or contact your local law enforcement.
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, Google Play, 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 scam - https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/
If you lost money or have information to believe these criminals are in the local area, a local police report may also be appropriate.
Tucson Police Department - Online reporting - https://www.tucsonaz.gov/apps/crime-reporting/
Original source can be found here.
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