If the phone rings, and the caller claims to be your local police department collecting a fine, beware.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has joined a growing list of law enforcement agencies across the nation warning residents about scammers impersonating police to receive payments via phone.
Gwinnett police and the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office also reported similar fake-out attempts over the past few months.
The ruses rely on high stakes: Pay now or face an arrest for an outstanding warrant or some similar variation. In DeKalb, the calls may appear especially convincing because they ring through with a local 404 area code. If you dial the number back, officials said, there’s a recording that sounds like the real sheriff’s office.
So how can you tell if the calls are fake?
“The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office will never call you regarding an outstanding warrant or demand any type of payment by phone,” Chief Deputy Temetris Atkins said in a statement.
For the week of July 20-26, reported jury and bond-related scams in Cobb totaled more than $8,000, said Steven Gaynor, who investigates fraud and forgery for the sheriff’s office there.
If you get a suspicious call, Gaynor said it’s a good idea to hang up, look up the official number for your local police department and call if you’re confused about a request to pay by phone. He added that older people are often the ones most susceptible to losing money.
It can be difficult for police to track down callers who use burner phones or complicated means of collecting money, he said.
A Gwinnett police spokesperson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the agency is aware of several scams in which callers have attempted to collect ticket payments. But there’s a big catch: The police department doesn’t even handle such transactions. That’s the job of the Recorder’s Court.
Reports about similar cons have come from police in Alexandria, Virginia, and Prince George County in Maryland. Even the Federal Trade Commission had to issue a warning last month about scammers pretending to be local law enforcement.
Those callers may try to sell you a slick story about a confiscated package with your name on it that’s stuffed with drugs or weapons. Then they’ll threaten to arrest you unless you pay up, the agency cautioned.
“If you want to check it out, contact your local police department, but use a website or phone number you know is real. Then report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov,” an FTC post states.
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