By Heather Bell
The Virginia State Police are warning of phone scams in the state that have included the loss of significant money to victims.
“There have been several cases opened this week regarding the loss of large amounts of money from victims in phone scams,” said VSP Sgt. Richard C. Garletts. “The calls are listed as originating from, and show names of, multiple police agencies on the phone, to include the Department of Justice. In many cases, the caller ID listing the names is misspelled, but shows as originating in the continental US.”
Garletts said the callers threaten the victims with arrest if they do not comply.
“There are several stories the caller tells the victim, and they appear to have information on the individual they are targeting, to include names, addresses and other personal information,” said Garletts. “They all threaten the arrest of the victim if they do not pay immediately.”
Garletts advises the public to be vigilant, and says “no police agency or federal law enforcement agency will call an individual on the phone and require a cash payment over the phone.
“In addition, if law enforcement is taking action against an individual, the courts will be involved and payments will be made through the court system,” he said.
“If anyone receives a call of this nature, they should not agree to pay, and they need to hang the phone up and report it immediately,” Garletts said. “If they have any questions, they should call the agency or the court system that the call supposedly originated from, by looking up the number from a trusted source and calling. Do not call the same number listed on the caller ID.”
