Officers have received reports from community members who stated that callers contact them claiming to be members of a police department or sheriff's department. The law enforcement impersonator often times:
refers to the community member by name, * tells the community member the call is being recorded, and
tells the community member they missed a court appearance or jury duty. The caller states they need to send money or a warrant will be issued for their arrest or they may turn themselves in to jail.
Sometimes scams such as these will include spoofing a legitimate police agency phone number and using a real name of a law enforcement officer in an attempt to gain the trust of the victim. No government agency of any kind takes gift cards as payment.
If you receive a similar call, hang up without providing any information or taking any instructions from the caller. Contact your local law enforcement agency.
The Pomona Police Department reminds you to be aware that:
The Pomona Police Department does not call individuals and demand or request money from community members under any circumstances. The Pomona Police Department or any other legitimate law enforcement agency does not call community members seeking payment for outstanding traffic citations or warrants. There’s never a good reason to send cash or pay with a gift card. Scammers will often ask you to pay in a way that makes it hard for you to get your money back — by wiring money, putting money on a gift card, prepaid card or cash reload card, or using a money transfer app. Anyone who asks you to pay that way is a scammer. Individuals claiming to collect debts may try to instill fear in potential victims to persuade them to forward money. For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Scam Alert website www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts
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