Palm Springs police warned residents Wednesday to beware of a recent phone scam in which criminals claim to be police officers to obtain money from callers.
Police said the department has received reports of such scammers trying to intimidate residents by saying they face possible arrest, an outstanding warrant, unpaid traffic fines, or missed jury duty, and then attempt to force them to send money.
The scammers may “spoof” a phone number using real names of police officers or providing a fake badge number or a case number as a tactic to sound legitimate. Police said scammers will attempt to create a sense of urgency and will instruct residents to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, Zelle, Cash App, Venmo or a wire transfer.
Police reminded the public that the department does not call people to demand payment to avoid arrest.
Instead, the department advised callers to stay calm, hang up, look up the agency’s phone number, contact the agency directly and report the incident to local law enforcement.