A Tucson woman reported on Thursday that she received two calls from individuals stating that she was subject to arrest warrants in an apparent attempt to trick her into sending them money.
The woman reported that one caller posed as an Internal Revenue Service investigator and another posed as a Sierra Vista Police Department (SVPD) employee. The caller ID information from the caller posing as an SVPD employee reportedly matched the department’s non-emergency dispatch phone number.
“Scammers often ‘spoof’ caller ID information to make it appear like the call is coming from a credible source,” says SVPD Sgt. Brian Sebastian, acting public information officer for the department. “Neither the police department nor the IRS will call a suspect in a law enforcement matter and ask for payment of any type through any kind of electronic transfer.”
Anyone who receives such a call should ask for a callback number and request the agency or organization name. Then they should call the publicly listed number for that organization to verify the source of the call. Under no circumstances should someone provide personal information, account numbers, or sensitive information of any kind to an unknown caller, even if the caller ID information seems to authenticate their identity.
Attempts to defraud or blackmail local residents should be reported to the Sierra Vista Police Department by coming to the police station or by calling (520) 452-7500.