Horseheads P.D. warns phone scam is impersonating police
HORSEHEADS, N.Y. (WENY) -- The Horseheads Police Department issued a warning on Monday, Dec. 16th of a new scam making the rounds where one caller is allegedly impersonating a Sergeant with the department. What makes this scam different is that if someone gets suspicious, police say it can involve a separate call designed to make you think the first phone call was legitimate.
Police say the scam starts when someone identifying themselves as working for a government agency asks a victim to help investigate illegal bank accounts they say are involved in money laundering and child pornography. The caller claims they need money to help with the investigation, and that if there is any concern over it being a scam, a local law enforcement agency will call to back it up.
Once that call ends, another person calls, and according to Horseheads P.D., they call using the Horseheads Police Department's phone number and identifies themselves as a Sergeant. The fake Sergeant than tells the victim the previous call was real, and they should participate.
According to police, they will never make calls asking people to withdraw money for a government agency, and will never call anyone to verify another callers identity.
If you get a phone call like this, or any call that you think could be a scam, please end the call, and contact your local police department.