Incident Type: Officer Impersonation Phone Scam
Incident Date: 2/27/2024
Release Date: 2/29/2024
Incident Number: FP24-3985
Prepared By: Sgt. Nicholas Clemens
Details:
On February 27,2024, the Fitchburg Police Department received information about suspicious phone calls. The caller identified themselves as an officer employed by the Fitchburg Police Department and told the citizen they missed a court date. The citizen recognized this was a likely scam, hung up the phone and called the Fitchburg Police Department to verify.
These calls were consistent with a common phone scam in which the caller states the call recipient has an arrest warrant or failed to appear for a court appearance. Generally, these calls inform the recipient the situation can be handled civilly or criminally and the recipient can settle the matter civilly by purchasing gift cards, wiring money, or providing personal information. Scammers will often threaten that the recipient will be arrested if they do not make the payment.
If you receive a phone call from someone identifying themselves as a law enforcement officer and requesting money, it is a scam. Do not provide financial information or follow instructions to make payments. Scam phone calls like this can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission online at the link below and do not need to be reported directly to local law enforcement. If you are a victim of this or any other type of scam and lose money, it can be reported to your local law enforcement agency.
Federal Trade Commission fraud reporting website: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/