This edition of Fraud Friday comes to us via an email I received from Fraud.org warning of the dangers of Law Enforcement Imposter Scams. While there are many different types of imposter scams, someone pretending to be a law enforcement officer has to be one of the worst. As a child, we are taught that police officers are there to protect us from harm. Members of law enforcement are there to assist those in need and bring criminals to justice. What happens when the bad guys pretend to be good guys? How are you supposed to tell the difference? Let’s dive in and find out.
Have you gotten a call or text that looks like it’s from the police or sheriff department? The caller or text may say that you have an unpaid ticket or a fine. Sometimes they accuse people of skipping out on jury duty. It may say they have confiscated a suspicious package with your name on it. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is warning that some criminals are posing as DOJ, FBI, and FINCEN to make people believe they have illegally supported terrorist organizations. Each of these call or text examples are designed with one thing in mind: conning an innocent victim out of their hard-earned money. The scammers will use the name of a real police officer, give the victim a badge number, even spoof telephone numbers so that it looks like the call/text is coming from a legit law enforcement agency. They explain the supposed crime, ask that the victim pay a fine, and threaten jail time. They will say that all of this can be avoided if you will just quickly pay the fine in one of the following ways:
- Buy gift cards and then give the scammer the numbers
- Send cash
- Deposit money in a Bitcoin ATM
- Use a payment app like Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle
- Click a link in the text
So, how can you tell if these calls or texts are legit? Here’s what you need to know:
- Real law enforcement officers or government agencies won’t call to say you are going to be arrested. They aren’t going to send you a text message about it, either.
- Real law enforcement officers won’t ask you to pay immediately, threaten jail time over the phone, or ask you to pay in an unconventional way.
- Stop and think, have I actually broken any laws? If the answer is no, you are most likely getting scammed.
Protect yourself!
- Never give out your account or personal information to someone you don’t know.
- Verify a caller is who they say they are! Contact your local police department and explain the call/text you just received.
- If you receive a call like this, don’t give out any information and hang up.
- If you get a text from a supposed law enforcement agency, don’t respond, just delete.
Fraud is ever changing, criminals are always coming up with new ways to take advantage of people. By impersonating a law enforcement officer, fraudsters get people’s attention using scare tactics and idle threats to get them to send money. Bottom line, don’t fall for it! By knowing what to look for and how to respond, you can save yourself from becoming a victim of a law enforcement imposter scam.
