Officials with the Decatur Police Department are warning residents to be aware of a phone scam that is once again making the rounds.
“A common phone scam is happening again,” stated a social media post by Decatur Police Department. “An unknown person will call stating the victim has a warrant, has missed a court date, or has an unpaid fine. The scammers then demand that the victim pay money, generally over the phone, to make the issue go away.”
Officials said what is particularly troubling about the scam this time is that the scammers are pretending to be Decatur police officers.
“There is not a police department anywhere that will call demanding money,” said Decatur police. “Do not give personal or financial information to anyone over the phone claiming they are a law enforcement officer, even if they claim to be a police officer from a local jurisdiction.”
Last year, DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox said citizens lost thousands of dollars to phone scammers and that one victim lost approximately $14,000 to a phone scam.
Maddox reiterated that the sheriff’s office will never contact anyone by phone or ask for personal information or payment to avoid arrest.
Callers sometimes pose as DeKalb County deputies or other employees of the agency, said Maddox. The scammer often tells victims they may be arrested on a warrant that does not exist or for not appearing to serve jury duty, then the scammer offers to help the victim avoid arrest by paying a fee, generally through prepaid money cards, stated officials.
“(The victims) are being targeted by a criminal,” said Maddox, who asked that anyone receiving these types of calls hang up immediately. “Do not engage in conversation with the caller and please do not give them any personal or financial information such as social security card or bank account numbers.”
Maddox said scammers have boldly told callers to meet them in the sheriff’s office parking lot to pay the fraudulent fees to…
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