Be aware!! There have been recent reports of people receiving phone calls from a person claiming to be from your local law enforcement agency. The caller will identify themselves in a manner that leads you to believe they are legitimate and proceed to tell you that you have a warrant for your arrest and that you need to immediately pay a fine in order to clear it from the system or face being arrested. Some of the more aggressive callers will threaten that they are coming for you. Don’t be surprised if they know all your information already also. Whatever you do, don’t panic and hang up the phone. These callers are SCAMMERS!!
In no way, shape, or form will the police ever call you and ask for money or tell you that you have a warrant. Don’t you watch TV?? They just come for you if that’s the case. Or when they come in contact with you next, they arrest you on the spot.
Either way, scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated and aggressive with their tactics. You should NEVER give into and pay someone over the phone for something you cannot verify. If you get caught up on one of those calls, just hang up.
Some important things to remember:
· Do NOT ever give out your personal information over the phone like your date of birth or social security number.
· Do NOT give out bank account or credit card account information.
· Do NOT share your passwords.
· NEVER feel pressured or panic. If that’s the case, hang up, relax and verify.
· ALWAYS verify before proceeding. That means if you have to call the person or company back, make sure NOT to just call the number the caller gives you. Look up the number on your bill or on the computer and call that number. Tell them you received a call asking for whatever and you need to confirm it was legitimate.
A few extra steps will save you a lot of headaches later if you are victimized.
Sherry Le
HOA Tellico Village Neighborhood Watch Chair