AUBURN, Calif. — Auburn police are warning of a new scam where people pose as officers, tell residents they have a warrant out for their arrest and that they need to wire money.
An Auburn woman, who didn't want to be identified but took one of those calls over the weekend, said this is a pretty scary situation because the scammers had her address. She also believed they visited her home.
"He began to tell me I was involved in some kind of lawsuit," said the woman.
She said a man with a deep voice called her cellphone multiple times until she called back.
"He told me that, since I didn't show up to court, there was a bench warrant out for my arrest and that somebody was going to arrest me. And I said, no, that's not true," the woman said.
The man identified himself as an Auburn police officer she knows and said a deposition was delivered to her home.
"The most concerning thing is that they said they had come out to my house and then they had said my home address. That was concerning to me," the woman said.
Sgt. Joe Almedia said a handful of similar calls were also reported to the Auburn Police Department over the weekend.
"What they were concerned about was they were getting notifications, whether... they might have a warrant and this is how you take care of it, they have outstanding documents, tickets, parking stuff and they would pay with gift cards or do some type of deposit," Almeida said.
He said people believe these scams are real because they claim to be the police department calling them. But he said law enforcement agencies will never ask you to pay over the phone.
"We typically will go out to your residence, so we're gonna be in full uniform. We'll have our identification, so you can verify whatever you need from us if we're not in full uniform. And that's how we make our contact if there's outstanding warrants or if there's any paperwork issues," Almeida said.
Other red flags include asking people for their personal information, such as their Social Security Number and bank information.
"Trust your gut. Don't be afraid to ask questions. On the call, they did tell me I was being recorded, and I said, OK great, so you're going to record me asking you questions to verify whether or not this is true. Don't be afraid to ask questions, don't be afraid to follow your gut. Cause if your gut is telling you it's off, it's probably for a reason," the Auburn woman said.
Auburn police said it's usually the elderly who are targeted by these scams, but they don't believe that to be the case in this situation.
They're asking all residents to stay vigilant, hang up right away if they get a call like this and notify their local police agency.
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