GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Kent County law enforcement are warning of a scam in which fraudulent callers are posing as officers and threatening those answering the calls.
In a press release Tuesday, the Kent County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) said the callers are threatening to arrest, extort the victim with physical or financial harm or release sensitive data if money is not sent.
KCSO says scammers may ask you to retrieve money from your bank account or obtain a prepaid credit card or gift card from a local store and provide them with the credit card number.
The scammers often use spoof phone numbers, so that the call appears to be coming from a law enforcement agency, like KCSO. The fraudulent callers are also typically not from the area and are hard to trace, the sheriff's office said.
When in doubt, the sheriff's office says, hang up the phone and never give out personal information, including your social security number or banking information.
Other common scams that the sheriff's office says to avoid, include:
- A stranger sends you a check and asks you to cash it while keeping some of the money. This is a different variation of the Craig’s List transaction where the buyer/sender “accidentally” overpays and asks you to cash the fraudulent check and send them the amount of the overpayment. Banks will most likely cash the check and not realize the check is forged until several days later. You are then financially responsible for the amount of the bad check.
A person says they have found a virus on your computer. They ask for remote access to the computer and then hold the computer hostage until a ransom is paid.
A person contacts you over the phone and claims to be your relative who has been arrested or injured in an accident. They ask you to provide them with the number of a prepaid credit card for bond money or medical expenses.
A person claims that your account has been hacked and that your social security number is being placed on hold.
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