State Police issues warning about a rise in phone scams

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia State Police has issued a warning to Virginians about a rise phone scams in which the caller poses as law enforcement.

According to police, some scammers call phones with valid Virginia State Police phone numbers appearing on caller ID, or contact people through WhatsApp pretending to be an officer of investigator.

The scammer will then falsely claim the identity of the person they’re calling has been stolen or that there is a warrant for their arrest, and that they need to immediately send gift cards or money through wire transfer in order for the charges to be dropped.

According to VSP, law enforcement would never contact someone by phone in order to clear outstanding warrants or request money — especially in the form of gift cards. Also, caller ID is not always accurate and it is easy for scammers to utilize it to impersonate someone.

VSP is asking Virginians to never provide their bank account or card information over the phone, and to report any scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov.

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