New Scam In Bergen County Tells Residents They're Under Arrest: Police

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — "No, you probably don't have a warrant out for your arrest," the Ridgewood police said in a recent social media post. They want you to be aware of a new phone scam.

Apparently, people in the area are getting phone calls saying they owe fines, and if they don't pay, they're going to jail.

The police explained: "Over the last 24 hours, we have received a significant number of reports that someone, pretending to be a member of our department, is calling residents and demanding payment and threatening arrest. It's not us. We do not collect money over the phone. Ever."

They added, "Thank you to those who've reached out to let us know that this has been happening ... Please spread the word to your friends, family, and neighbors."

The police reminded people to check with their local department if they have questions.

"As always, we are here at our real phone number if you have any questions or have been victimized by something like this. 201-652-3900."

In a comment after a post, one woman said she'd fallen for the scam.

"To save other people the hassle and the hours wasted like I did today, they were saying that I had two citations, one - failure to appear for a jury summons and then contempt of court - my choices were to go down to the police station and get fingerprinted and booked or pay a bond."

The scam was similar to the "Grandparent Scam" that's become popular, in which someone calls a person saying they're their grandson, and that they need bail money sent to them. One person in Glen Rock lost $15,000 to the scam recently. Read more about that here.