Mogadore police warn that scammers using police in fraud scheme
Mogadore police issued an alert on their Facebook page warning residents of a scam that uses local police simply doing their jobs to fool people into paying money.
More: Portage County Sheriff's Office says scammer impersonating sheriff's deputy
Someone calls, texts, emails, mails through the U.S. Postal Service, or sends a notice through a delivery service saying they are notifying the person that a warrant will be issued if they do not pay them. The scammer then calls into local police dispatch and asks for a welfare check on that person. Police come to the house to check on the person and the occupant does not answer the door because they believe the police are there to arrest them. The victim is then convinced and pays the scammer so that the “warrant” will be withdrawn.
Mogadore police said that in an example posted by another police department on Facebook, a welfare check on an elderly woman, 80-plus years old, was requested by someone claiming to be her nephew who cannot reach her. Police determined that the "nephew" and other unknown actors had been scamming the woman, getting gift cards in exchange for not going to jail. Multiple text messages on her phone indicated she would be arrested for not complying.
“This is interesting because the scammers are utilizing law enforcement to benefit their illegal activity,” said Mogadore police in their post. “Hypothetically, elderly person sees us, assumes we are there to arrest and doesn't answer the door then follows through with more of the scammers directions.”
Police ask that residents tell their friends and family, especially those who are elderly or home bound, that if they have questions, they should call their local police department before paying anything and no credible agency or business takes gift cards as payment. They should look up the police department number themselves and not use the number that was included in the correspondence they received or that the scammer gave them. The Mogadore Police Department’s local non-emergency number is 330-633-4404.
“And as always anyone is welcome to come to the station and talk to one of us or we can come to you if need be,” says the Mogadore police post.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Mogadore police warn that scammers using police in fraud scheme
