3 Impersonation Scams: Arlington Police Offer Tips For Avoiding Fraud

ARLINGTON, VA — Beware of people impersonating law enforcement and other figures of authority. That’s the message from the Arlington County Police Department to help residents avoid getting scammed.

Scam artists use figures of authority and emergency situations to create a sense of urgency and fear in the caller, according to police.

Arlington County Police said they will never contact residents by telephone, email or text to solicit funds or collect fines. Legitimate government agencies and businesses will also not call people and demand immediate payment in the form of gift cards, cryptocurrency or digital cash transfers, police said.

“Any unsolicited contact that puts you in fear, requests you to act quickly or states there is an emergency requiring you to provide funds or personal identifiable information is likely a scam,” Arlington County Police said in a news release.

Police warned residents about three popular scams:

Scam No. 1: The Jury Duty Scam

• Scammers will pose as local law enforcement and contact victims accusing them of failing to appear for jury duty and stating a warrant for their arrest will be issued unless a fine is paid. Payment is often requested in the form of gift cards, and the scammer will ask the victim to provide the gift card numbers over the phone.

Scam No. 2: Federal Agent Impersonation Scam

• Scammers will call potential victims and pose as federal law enforcement agents in an attempt to extort money or steal their personal identifiable information. There are variations of this scam, among them, that the victim’s name was used to rent a vehicle which was stopped in Texas and contains a large quantity of drugs. The scammer then has the victim verify their social security number or tells the victim their bank account has been compromised. In some cases, the scammer threatens the victim with arrest for the fictional drug seizure and instructs them to send money in the form of a gift card or wire transfer to pay a “fine” or to assist with the investigation or with resetting the bank account.

Scam No. 3: The Injured Family Member Scam

• Scammers will call potential victims pretending to be a family member or an attorney in an attempt to extort money. The scammer states the family member has been injured in a car crash, arrested and needs money for bail. If questioned as to why the family member sounds different, the scammer will say it is because of trauma from the crash.

Residents can visit the ACPD’s financial crimes webpage to get additional information about how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.