Annapolis, MD - Annapolis Police Department has received four reports of Annapolis residents receiving scam phone calls recently. The scams involved suspects identifying themselves as Annapolis police officers and telling the victims they owe money for missing court dates. The fake officers threatened the victims with criminal prosecution and fines. Three victims were coerced into sending money to the scammers.
The Annapolis Police Department, or any other police department, will not contact you to try and get you to send money over the phone or have you buy gift cards.
Scammers will tell victims to stay on the phone with them during gift card purchases and if store employees question the purchases the scammers provide the victim with excuses to explain the purchases.
Scammers will pressure you to stay on the phone with them, they will ask you for account and personal information. You should not provide information like this over the phone, especially on calls you did not initiate to verified phone numbers. Buying gift cards and providing those numbers to someone over the phone is a clear sign of a scam. For more information on phone scams visit the Federal Trade Commission at https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/phone-scams.
